


The Whole Package

by Olsies



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Ace!Derek, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Angst, Awkward Dates, College AU, F/F, Fluffy Dates, Internalized Acephobia, Internalized Arophobia, Lithromantic!Stiles, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-07 21:38:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4278852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olsies/pseuds/Olsies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Derek introduced himself, Stiles whacked at Scott’s shoulder and started pointing and looking pointedly with his eyes.</p><p>“What?” Scott mouthed.</p><p>“He’s the hottie!” Stiles mouthed back.</p><p>“You have to go potty?” Scott whispered back.  Allison cleared her throat.  Stiles rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Dancing hottie,” Stiles mouthed, dancing a little.</p><p>“Freshmen!” A blonde guy chided.  “Do you need something?”</p><p>“Uh, where is the bathroom?” Scott asked.  Everyone giggled.  After Scott left, Stiles pulled his phone and texted Scott, <em>He’s the HOTTIE with the BODY that I DANCED with.</em></p><p>Scott came back in a minute later and sat next to Stiles.  He checked out Derek, who seemed to either not know that they were talking about him, or pretended not to care.  Stiles suspected it was the latter.  Scott held up a thumb, nodding.</p><p>***</p><p>Or, what would happen if Scott was bit by a real rogue werewolf his and Stiles's freshman year of college.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The minor character death is for Victoria Argent. I will mark that chapter because it is rather violent.

As the afternoon melted into early evening, Stiles covered in sweat, flopped on a narrow twin next to his best friend. He and Scott had spent the better part of the afternoon unloading stuff from Stiles’s Jeep into their new dorm room and they finally were done. Boxes littered the small room, some opened, some closed, a few on their sides or upside down. 

“Man, you reek!” Scott complained pushing Stiles away.

“Yeah, you don’t smell so great yourself…”

“I’m not the one trying to be all up in other people’s space either…” Stiles shrugged and got up. He looked at the itinerary the cute RA had given them when she checked them in. He saw there was a dance that night.

“You and Allison up for going to this dance thing?” Stiles asked. Scott held out his hand for the paper which Stiles handed over before searching for his bathroom stuff.

“Lemme text her,” Scott said, scratching his stomach. Nodding, Stiles continued his search and then went in the bathroom when he found what he needed. He was glad his dad and Melissa had been able to afford the slightly more expensive room with the private bathroom. Stiles didn’t think anyone but Scott would be able to put up with American Idol every time he showered. When he and Scott learned they got in the same college as Allison, there had been a tense moment when Stiles feared that Scott and Allison might room together until her dad stepped in and said, “Absolutely not,” before anyone had spoken anything aloud. Stiles wasn’t completely convinced he _wasn’t_ psychic.

Once in the bathroom, Stiles set up the iHome and started flipping through his iPod trying to find something to get him going. He settled on Simon Curtis and turned the music up loud, but only mumbled the lyrics under his breath. He stripped and started the water, liking that they had good water pressure. Once in the shower, he sang along loudly and off key until Scott was banging on the door, reminding him that the dance started soon and they still had to go to the cafeteria for dinner. After rinsing off, he turned off the water and got out, trying to not slip. He reminded himself to invest in a rug or possibly attempt to find the one that Melissa had inevitably packed before his next shower. He turned down the music and started brushing his teeth. By the time he got out, Allison was sitting at Scott’s desk helping him unpack.

“Hope you didn’t take all the hot water, buddy,” Scott said kicking at Stiles as he slipped past him. Scott slipped with a wet screech across the tiles. “You fucking got water everywhere!” He yelled as he closed the door. Stiles smirked and Allison just shook her head, smiling. He flopped on his bed and started fiddling with his laptop. He got on Facebook and messaged his dad that he needed a rug for the bathroom. They talked for a few minutes, and his dad reminded him which box the rug should be in. Scott took a quicker shower than Stiles and was out in a quarter of the time.

“You ready?” He asked sitting on his bed and finding some shoes.

“Yeah,” Stiles said telling his dad ‘bye’ before slamming his laptop shut. They got up and wandered around in circles for a while before they figured out where the caf was. The food didn’t look _so_ awful, but Allison did make them get veggies which Stiles seemed to greatly resent.

“You’re always trying to get your dad to eat vegetables,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, that’s different,” Stiles said shaking his head at the salad. Well. If you could call it a salad. He’d gotten chicken fingers and french fries and put them on some iceberg lettuce and drowned it all in ranch dressing. Allison rolled her eyes at him as he munched away on a chicken finger. They ate quickly, trying to not make eye contact with anyone, feeling very shy and exposed. When they were done, they put their trays up and wandered around some more trying to find Graham Hall until another student took pity on them.

“You’re here…” The girl said pointing at a point on the map. “Graham Hall is here…” She traced her perfectly manicured nail along a trail. “And that trail is there…” She pointed, pushing back some of her red hair. “If you wait for like five minutes, I can walk you over…” She offered. Stiles looked hopefully at Scott and Allison. This girl was Hot with a capital H. Allison shrugged and Scott said, “Yeah, thanks. That’d be great. I’m Scott, by the way.” He held out his hand and she shook it.

“Lydia,” she said.

“Stiles,” Stiles said holding out his hand and shook hers. “And this is Scott’s girlfriend, Allison.” Allison and Lydia shook hands.

“You guys wait here; I will be right back…” They sat down on a bench poking each other as it started to get dark. Lydia came down a few minutes later, having changed into a jaw dropping miniskirt and short sleeve tee. “Shall we?” She asked, marching down the path, a pair of heels dangling from her fingers. The trio got up and followed after her, realizing that this girl was something else. When they got to Graham Hall, they half expected her to ditch them, but no. She marched them around the Hall introducing them to people, most of whom Stiles completely forgot. Somehow, Stiles got separated from the others and ended up running into a tall, well built guy. _Talk about tall, dark, and dreamy..._ Stiles thought to himself, not caring that it was a fucking cliche because there was no one there in his head to judge him. He had dark hair, soft brown eyes, and perfectly groomed stubble. He smiled warmly at Stiles when Stiles stuttered out an apology which he waved off.

“My name’s Derek, what’s yours?” He asked. Stiles told him. “Wanna dance?” He asked. Stiles looked around and nodded a little excitedly. This guy, this asshole, this… this Adonis lead him out to the dance floor, drink in hand, and pulled Stiles close, moving their hips in rhythm. “Are you a freshman?” Derek asked.

“If I say yes, will you hold it against me?” Stiles asked. Derek laughed a little.

“No,” he said simply, smiling.

“What about you?” Derek smirked.

“Sophomore,” he said. They fell silent for a few minutes as they let themselves get lost in the music, just enjoying the moment. As the music started slowing, Derek leaned forward suddenly and kissed Stiles. Stiles seemed to forgot how to breathe or move or do anything but let Derek lick his way into Stiles’s mouth. Stiles may have whimpered a little. Just as suddenly as it started, it was over. Derek pulled back and nodded at Stiles. The song was over. “I’ll see you around,” Derek said, turned, and left. Stiles stared after him, jumping when Scott slapped his shoulder.

“There you are! Where have you been?” Scott asked.

“Dancing with a hottie,” Stiles stammered.

“Yeah right,” Scott said, laughing. “You tripped on your untied shoe, didn’t you?” Stiles shook his head.

“He was a hottie with a body,” Stiles insisted.

“ _He?!_ ” Scott said incredulously. _Oops_ , Stiles thought to himself and shrugged figuring now was as good as ever to come out to his best friend as bi.


	2. Chapter 2

Walking home that night, Stiles felt pretty lucky. Not only did he get to make out with a hottie, but Scott finally knew he was bi, _and_ Scott was cool with it. Better yet, Scott had admitted to having a few crushes on guys and Stiles felt excited about the coming year. He could tell it was going to be a good year; he could feel it in his bones.

Scott walked Allison back to her dorm, leaving Stiles to wander home by himself, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow excited for the next morning when _for once_ he would be challenged by school and not just be completely bored by things he already understood.

Stiles’s mood fell a little after his first Geology 101 lecture. And then again a few hours later in English 101. He realized it was going to be a rather boring semester reading books he already knew, studying material he’d learned for free from the internet. The first few weeks went by slowly, the days bleeding into each other, feeling like one long day. Scott and Allison were too busy being a cutesy couple to notice Stiles’s ennui. By the end of the second week, Stiles was so bored he thought he might actually die until he saw the QSA flyer. It claimed it was for anyone queer, queer adjacent, or an ally, and it was meeting that Friday in Hamish Hall. Stiles quickly pulled out his phone and texted Lydia asking if she knew anything about it.

_Of course I do. I’m the prez! Are you coming?!_ She replied almost immediately.

_Awesome! Yeah! Sure!_ Stiles replied. And then added, _Can Scott and Allison come?_

_Of course!!! Dinner at 6?_ She replied. They spent the next few messages working out when they could go to dinner, and then Stiles went to find Scott and Allison. Stiles told them about the QSA and they agreed that it was something that they would be interested in.

“Greenburg is going to be so upset when he finds out you like guys,” Allison said with her copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ ( _how cliche, right?_ ) propped open on her knees. “He asked me like twelve times if I knew you liked anyone…”

“Well, I guess we shouldn’t tell Greenburg about this…” Stiles said, shuddering a little. Greenburg was a good guy, but no. Just abso-fucking-lutely no. They went to dinner and then Stiles played COD with his headphones on while Scott and Allison made out on the bed behind him.

***

The next day found Stiles, Scott, and Allison hanging outside of Lydia’s dorm waiting for her to come down. When the front doors finally opened, she came out wearing a white tank top, with a green button up top, and cute denim booty shorts. She was once again not wearing, but rather carrying a pair of shoes; this time they were green with white hearts on them.

“Come on, this way,” she said walking away from them as they scrambled to get up. The meeting was held in a set of offices that turned out to be an LGBTQIA+ resource center. For the first time in weeks, Stiles started to feel excited once again. They were a few minutes late so Lydia apologized as she took her seat at the head of the table. “Sorry,” she said. “Got caught up in my math. Who has the agenda?”

“I do,” a familiar voice said and Stiles glanced around the table and was startled to see the hottie. Stiles tripped or something as he tried to sit and ended up smacking his chin on the table causing everyone at the table jumped.

“Dude, are you ok?” Scott asked helping him up.

“Yeah, cool, cool,” Stiles said getting up slowly. “Sorry… Sorry.” Derek raised an eyebrow at Stiles as he passed along the agendas. Stiles nodded and winked, and then felt his body fill with shame. He was sure he had a giant bruise on his chin. Someone else started to talk about something that Stiles didn’t catch because he was too busy staring at the table thinking about how he’d blown his chances with Derek, and he may as well just leave, because he was going to be nothing but a big joke now. Someone handed him the stack of agendas and he passed it along. Scott slapped at Stiles’s shoulder. He looked up, surprised. “What?”

“My friend, with an obvious concussion, is Stiles, and I’m Scott,” Scott said. Stiles blushed again as Allison introduced herself. Stiles shook his head and leaned back, trying to recompose. When Derek introduced himself, Stiles whacked at Scott’s shoulder and started pointing and looking pointedly with his eyes.

“What?” Scott mouthed.

“He’s the hottie!” Stiles mouthed back.

“You have to go potty?” Scott whispered back. Allison cleared her throat. Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Dancing hottie,” Stiles mouthed, dancing a little.

“Freshmen!” A blonde guy chided. “Do you need something?”

“Uh, where is the bathroom?” Scott asked. Everyone giggled. After Scott left, Stiles pulled his phone and texted Scott, _He’s the HOTTIE with the BODY that I DANCED with._

Scott came back in a minute later and sat next to Stiles. He checked out Derek, who seemed to either not know that they were talking about him, or pretended not to care. Stiles suspected it was the latter. Scott held up a thumb, nodding.

“...and then I was thinking we should have a queer fall mixer,” the blonde guy was saying. “Or something…”

“We could have something outside,” Lydia said.

“A Night Among the Fairy Lights?” The blonde said.

“That’s terrible,” someone else said. “Let’s do it.” They made a subcommittee for the mixer and then Derek pulled out a pack of Uno cards.

“Remember,” he said shuffling and then dealing. “No cheating!” The game was fun and even with a strict no cheating rule, there was still cheating, but everyone kept giggling and laughing so it didn’t really seem to matter. Stiles tried to not stare at Derek the whole time, but when he did glance across the table at Derek, Derek was usually looking at him too. When the game was over, Scott and Allison wandered over to talk to Lydia while Stiles fiddled with his phone and most of the other people filtered out.

“How is your chin?” Derek asked when most of the people were gone.

“Huh? Oh, a little sore… It will be ok,” he said. “How have your first few weeks been? I’ve been beyond bored. I thought college was supposed to be a challenge, and I feel less challenged than I was in high school. I didn’t think that was possible. Like. At all. But, I guess that just means I get to play COD more. Do you play COD?” Derek raised an eyebrow at him. “Call of Duty. It’s a first person shooter.”

“I don’t have a Nintendo.” Stiles gaped at Derek. “I’m kidding! I know it’s on the PS3 and whatever. I don’t have a gaming system.” Stiles laughed a little. Fucking asshole. “And yeah, the 101 classes are boring, but you’ll get through them. What classes are you taking?” They hashed out Stiles’s schedule for a few minutes. Apparently Stiles had some good teachers, but really he didn’t care about that.

“Do you wanna go see a movie tonight?” Stiles blurted. Derek eyed him for a minute.

“Sure,” he said taking Stiles’s phone and pushing buttons. “Now you have my number, and I texted myself so I have yours. ‘Stiles’ with an ‘i’?” Stiles nodded. Derek pulled out his own phone and pushed some buttons.

“I’ll text you,” Stiles said getting up and heading towards Scott and Allison. “You two ready?” He asked. They nodded, waving at Lydia and following Stiles out the door. Stiles glanced at his phone to see what Derek had sent himself. It read, _Hello cutie. ;)_ Stiles chuffed a little and pocketed his phone. They walked back to Scott and Stiles’s room and popped in a movie, killing time before dinner.

Stiles managed to last approximately 27 minutes before he texted Derek.

_What movie do you want to see?_ Stiles asked.

_Um… Have you heard about the old theater?_ Derek asked.

_No. What’s that?_

“Dude, are you even watching the movie?” Scott asked. Stiles looked up.

“What are we watching-oh gawd, _Titanic_? Really?”

“It’s what you get for not paying attention,” Allison said.

“Who are you texting anyways?” Scott asked peeking over Stiles’s shoulder.

“I got the hottie’s number,” Stiles said. “We’re going to a movie tonight…” Scott nudged at Stiles a little.

“You were right, he’s cute,” Scott said. Allison nodded in agreement pushing her way into Scott’s lap a little.

“Way cuter than Greenburg,” she said. “Maybe next time we can double?” Stiles shrugged as his phone went off.

_It is a theater that has two screens and plays old movies. One is a kiddie movie, the other pg-13+ This week they are playing batman returns and beauty and the beast. either sound appealing?_ Derek said. Stiles immediately replied _BATMAN!!!!!! what time does it start?_ Stiles stared at the screen for a few minutes until Derek texted him back.

_It starts at 630. Which dorm are you at? I’ll pick you up._ Stiles told him and then immediately started to freak out about what to wear. He wanted to change, but into what? Nothing too formal, not like he had that anyways, and nothing-gawd what was he even wearing?

“Why are you breathing weird?” Scott asked. “Are you having a panic attack?” Stiles shrugged. “What’s wrong?”

“Clothes?” He said, and Scott looked at him confused. “What am I supposed to wear on my date, Scotty?” Scott got off the bed and flopped next to Stiles, rubbing his shoulders.

“You look fine like that, Stiles,” Scott said. Stiles looked down at his old Captain America t-shirt and jean shorts.

“But-”

“But you got his number like that, didn’t you?” Scott asked. Stiles nodded, feeling his pulse return to normal.

“First dates are big deals,” Allison said. “But you’ll rock it. You are a great guy.” Stiles nodded.

“What movie are you going to see?”

“ _Batman Returns_...” Stiles said.

“Dude,” Scott said. “Hot and and big ol’ dork like you?”

“Shut up!” Stiles said shoving at Scott, laughing, feeling his muscles relaxing. He got up and went to their shared mini-fridge and pulled out a Capri Sun, taking a deep breath. They were of course right. He had nothing to worry about. He was a catch. An eleven in a sea of sevens ‘cause gawd the guys here were… But Derek was at least a 20, and Stiles tried to focus instead on the fact that he was going to see _Batman Returns_ on an actual movie screen. Eventually Scott and Allison dragged him down to the caf so he wouldn’t be starving through the movie. Stiles ate some pizza and even managed some green beans (which were his favorite), but eventually just sat there nervously chattering away about how he’d read _Romeo and Juliet_ like twelve times, and it was so boring, and he was already done with his final paper for the book.

By the time they got back to the dorms it was almost 5:30 and Stiles paced around the front lobby until his phone went off around 6.

“Yo,” Stiles said answering Derek’s call.

“Hey, you ready? I’m pulling up to the front of your dorm now…” Stiles looked out the front and saw a black Camaro.

“You have a Camaro?” Stiles said, his excitement growing.

“Yeah, and if you’re nice, I may even let you drive it…” Derek said. Stiles hung up and rushed out the front door.

“Really?!” Stiles asked as Derek rolled down his window.

“Maybe,” he said. “But not tonight. Get in.” Derek leaned across the car and opened Stiles’s door. Stiles ran around and fell into the car, pulling the door closed.

“Hi,” Stiles said, glancing at Derek.

“Hi,” Derek said and put the car into drive. “Put your seatbelt on.” After pulling on his belt, Derek started down the hill. The silence didn’t last long before Stiles started talking.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” He asked.

“Yeah, a few,” Derek said. “You?”

“Not really… I mean Scott, I guess… We’ve been friends since we were like three. His mom and my mom were good friends.”

“Were?” Derek asked.

Stiles sighed. “My mom died when I was eleven. I don’t really wanna talk about it,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Derek nodded and started to tell Stiles about his six brothers and sisters.

“Cora is the youngest,” he said. “She’ll start her next year, if she decides to apply here… She’s a little brat, but I wouldn’t trade her. She wants to be a reporter when she grows up.” They fell silent. “What about you?” Derek asked.

“Hmm?” Stiles asked.

“What do you want to be when you’re grown up?”

 

“Batman,” Stiles said without thinking. “Or Captain America. Yeah, Cap’s better.” Then he looked at Derek horrified. “Did I say that outloud?” Derek laughed, and nodded.

“It’s ok,” he said. “I kind of want to be Tony Stark.”

“You do not!” Stiles said sitting up a little.

“You’re right… I’m more like Bruce Banner,” Derek said pulling into a parking spot.

“I can’t believe you like Batman _and_ the Avengers!”

Derek shook his head a little. “They are fun movies…” He said opening his door. Stiles got out too and looked around. The movie theater looked kinda run down, but there was a lot of students milling about. Derek lead them to the back of the line. They started debating on DC versus Marvel and Stiles was happy to have found a worthy opponent. Derek bought the tickets and Stiles got the popcorn and soda with two straws. They made their way into the theater and found seats, shoving the drink the cup holder between them. Stiles held the popcorn and they talked quietly about nothing until the movie started. Early in the movie, Derek took his hand and held it until the end. Stiles had forgotten how dark the movie was, but Derek seemed to enjoy it, so he tried to relax and just give into the fact that he was holding a cute boy’s hand, and that was awesome no matter what else happened. Or didn’t happen.

When the movie was over, they got up and followed the others outside. Stiles wanted to take Derek’s hand again, but put his hands in his pockets instead. It was still pretty early.

“Wanna go get some coffee?” Derek asked. Stiles nodded and followed Derek across the street to a local coffee shop. Derek ordered a decaf iced chai and Stiles got a hot chocolate with double whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles which Derek paid for. After they got their drinks, they squished on a bench full of other people sitting thigh to thigh. They were silent for a few minutes while they sipped their drinks.

“My mom used to put marshmallows and whipped cream… I wish coffee shops had marshmallows,” Stiles said, sighing at his cup. Derek began to twitch his leg nervously.

“I like it with peppermint so I hardly get it outside of Christmas,” Derek said. Stiles slipped his hand into to Derek’s.

“You nervous?” He asked. Derek looked at him confused. “Your leg?” Derek stopped.

“I-I generally don’t go on dates,” Derek confided.

“Oh?” Stiles asked. “But you’re so-”

“I know… Lots of boys and girls wanna date me… but I just…” He shrugged.

“Then why did you even kiss me at the dance?”

“You looked really cute and lost,” Derek said. “And I figured I wouldn’t see you again…”

“Did you know that you’re an asshole sometimes?” Derek laughed, falling a little into Stiles’s space.

“Did you know that you’re really cute?” Derek asked.

“Of course,” Stiles said. Derek shook his head and kissed Stiles’s cheek. Stiles slipped his cocoa between his thighs and pulled Derek’s face closer, kissing his mouth. They kissed a few more times and then suddenly Derek got up and rushed to the bathroom. Stiles stared after him, confused. He checked his phone for messages. He had one from Scott.

_Hope it is going well! :)_

_It was… He ran away when we were kissing. Am I a bad kisser?_ Stiles fiddled with his phone and then Derek was back.

“Walk with me?” He asked. Stiles nodded and got up, careful to keep his distance this time. They threw away their empty drink cups and were silent as Derek led them to a nearby park. In his head, Stiles couldn’t help but continually replay the evening in his head, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. Sitting down on one of the swings, Derek watched as Stiles slid into the swing next to him. Derek slid sideways and grabbed Stiles’s chain, holding them close. He took a deep breath, braced himself and kissed Stiles on the mouth once. Twice. Thr-no he couldn’t. He let go of Stiles’s swing and they rocked back and forth. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this,” he said. “I don’t know why… It’s not you…” Stiles stared at him with wide eyes. “I’ve never been able to date anyone right,” Derek mumbled almost to himself. “I-I dated this woman for a while, but…” He shrugged. “I-something doesn’t work inside me… I don’t know how to explain it.” He fell silent, his swing still. Stiles bit his lip and took a deep breath trying to figure out where the date had gone so horribly wrong.

“Dude, it’s ok. I get it. We don’t have to do anything...” He fell silent. He has no idea what to say, he didn’t even know this guy.

Derek said nothing for a long time, just stared off into the night. Stiles took out his phone to check the time wondering if he should offer to drive the other man home or not. “I’m sorry,” Derek said suddenly, shaking his head a little, pulling himself out of whatever thoughts he’d fallen into. “Lydia says I just psyche myself out. She’s going to be so disappointed, but…” Stiles felt a little queasy and for once didn’t have any words to fill the awkward silence. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll take you home.” Stiles followed him back to the Camaro. They were silent until they got to Stiles’s dorm. “Friends?” Derek asked holding out his hand.

“Friends,” Stiles said shaking it. He got out of the car and slammed the door behind him before Derek could say anything else. He ran up the stairs, past some students, and up to his room where he found Scott and Allison watching something on TV.

“Hey,” Scott said. Stiles waved and flopped on his bed, his back to his friends. “He’s a jerk! He has no idea as to what he’s missing out on!” Scott said immediately reading Stiles’s emotions in the way he curled around himself. Stiles shook his head.

“It’s weird,” Stiles said rolling to his back. “Like, I-I really feel like he’s telling the truth. That he can’t, for whatever reason, do relationships but he _does_ like me.” Stiles sighed. “Am I crazy?”

“Wait, back up,” Allison said. “Tell us everything.” And so he did.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emetophobia warning... Basically, Stiles gets the stomach flu and Derek takes care of him.

As it turned out, Derek and Stiles didn’t see each other for three weeks. Scott thought that Stiles should just let it go for now, this kid was obviously hurting and needed _someone_ to not run. Allison worried that he was just using Stiles, that he was manipulating Stiles, using him for gawd knew what. Stiles didn’t really know what to think until a few days later when Derek asked Stiles if he had heard of a movie called _The Human Centipede_ and if he should relocate to the library so his roommate could watch it. Stiles’s emphatic _GTFO!!!!!_ was enough to make him leave.They texted a little that night about this and that, and then suddenly it was the end of the week and he and Derek had texted so much that Stiles had to up his texting plan.

They meant to meet up at the QSA meetings, but the first friday Stiles had a lab thing, the second one Derek was doing something (Stiles couldn’t remember what), and then the third friday Stiles slept through his morning classes and had to go find out what he’d missed despite his spinning head and churning stomach. Derek saw him coming out of the English Department after the QSA meeting was over and went to say hi, but Stiles rushed past him to a nearby trash can where he proceeded to puke. A lot. When Stiles stood up, he wiped his mouth, he saw Derek, and paled more.

“Hi,” he croaked, his throat raw.

“Hi,” Derek murmured. “Want help going back to your dorm?” Stiles shook his head, turning and having to stop suddenly to stop the spinning of his head and stomach. “Let me rephrase that: I’m going to take you back to your dorm,” Derek said grabbing Stiles’s arm and leading him to a short cut. Stiles had to stop a few times to fight the inevitable, but just outside his dorm he lost it, vomiting on the steps, the puke splashing on his pants and shoes. Derek rubbed his back until he was done and then helped him up the stairs and past all the people staring. Once in his room, Derek sat Stiles on his chair and proceeded to take off his disgusting shoes and put them in the shower.

“Stand up, Stiles,” Derek said coming out of the bathroom.

“Why?” Stiles asked as he stood. Derek put his hands on Stiles’s pants. “Whoa!” Stiles squawked, shoving Derek’s hands away shakily. “I need-” Derek grabbed the trash can just in time and held it while Stiles heaved into it. When he was done, he set it aside.

“Stiles, you’re covered in puke,” Derek explained. “You have to take your pants off.” The door opened and Scott took one look at them and turned to leave. “Wait!” Derek said getting up as Stiles started hurling into the trash can again. Scott turned.

“What?”

“He needs someone-” Over the sound of Stiles heaving.

“Stiles and I have been through a lot,” Scott said. “We’ve known each other since we were three. He knows I don’t do puke. Sick Stiles is bad enough, but puking Stiles?”

“But-”

“No. The best I can do is a food run. I can’t be here- I’m-” Scott said turning green and leaving, pulling the door closed behind him. Derek turned back to Stiles.

“I can just wash my sheets later,” Stiles said getting up. Derek shook his head.

“You’ll feel more comfortable-”

“Jesus fucking-I’m too tired for this shit.” And with that Stiles shoved down his jeans and threw them in his hamper and Derek stared a little at Stiles’s My Little Pony boxers. “Don’t. I’m not a Brony. Just a fan. I swear.” Derek nodded a little, too stunned to speak.

“I’ll get you some water,” Derek said, going into the bathroom to get some water, but Stiles was asleep before Derek was even done filling the glass.

As it turned out, Stiles was a fairly easy sick person to take care of. Derek made him drink water and got him a clean washcloth to wash his face with. It was a long afternoon that bled into a longer night. When Stiles threw up on the way to the bathroom, Derek set up a place for Stiles to lay in the bathroom made up of Stiles’s blankets and towel and spread it on the bathroom floor. He left Stiles alone when he wasn’t puking, but when the retching noise started up again, he would get off Scott’s bed and walk into the bathroom to put cool cloths on the back of his neck, wipe his mouth, and do whatever he needed. Derek was beyond thankful it was just vomit. Stiles didn’t stop until almost one in the morning, and Derek ended up crashing on top of Scott’s bed fully clothed.

Derek woke up to the sound of knocking on the door. He grunted a little, but didn’t move.

“Stiles?” A familiar voice called. Derek huffed in his sleep a little trying to place the voice.

“Yeah?” Stiles said as the bathroom door creaked.

“How are you feeling, man?” The voice asked.

“Better. Derek…” Scott. Derek sat up suddenly, aware that he was in _Scott’s_ room and more importantly in _Scott’s_ bed.

“Go back to sleep, Derek,” Scott said turning when he heard Derek sit up.

“I can go,” Derek said. “What time is it?”

“Seven. Go back to sleep. I just came to check on Stiles.”

“Why are you up at seven on a Saturday?” Stiles asked. Scott just smiled a little.

“Later. Go back to sleep,” he said. Derek yawned and flopped back on the pillow, rolling away from Scott and Stiles. They talked for a few more minutes and then Scott left. After the door closed, there was rustling, the sound of naked feet on tile. Stiles slipped into the bed next to Derek, snuggling up against his back, and sliding his arm around him. Derek laced his fingers through Stiles’s.

“Thanks for staying,” Stiles mumbled as they both fell asleep.

When Derek woke up again, it was to the sound of a camera shutter going off. He opened his eyes and glared up at Allison. She giggled a little.

“You two are cute together,” she said pocketing her phone. Scott was ruffling through his desk.

“You are not a nice person, Allison,” Stiles said, his face squished comfortably along Derek’s back.

“Says the boy who is sleeping with another boy in his best friend’s bed.”

“I’ve been vomiting all night. That-no.” Stiles shook his head. “I have no shame sleeping in Scott’s bed.” Derek got up and went to the bathroom wishing he was anywhere but there. When he opened the door again, Allison and Scott were gone, and Stiles was shuffling back towards his own bed. “Thanks for staying with me,” Stiles said sitting on his bed. “You really didn’t have to.”

Derek shrugged and started searching for his shoes. “It wasn’t a big deal,” he said.

“Can I buy you lunch to make up for it?” Stiles asked. “I think I can manage some place with like soup.”

“You don’t have to,” Derek said locating his shoes and starting to pull them on.

“I know, but I want to. I’m hungry, and I think it might even stay down.” Stiles got up and grabbed a towel. “Just let me shower.” After twenty minutes, Stiles came out of the bathroom wearing his towel. “I left a spare toothbrush on the counter if you want it…” He said. Derek got up and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He brushed his teeth and checked his phone, waiting for Stiles to be dressed. Eventually Stiles knocked, saying he was ready. They drove to a diner where Stiles got chicken noodle soup, and Derek got a breakfast burrito. Stiles started the meal pretty quiet, but by the end Derek could really tell he was starting to feel better when he laughed easier, his color returning some. When the check came, Derek tried to take it but Stiles just slipped the waiter his card.

“This is on me,” Stiles said. “Thank you for taking care of me. I really hate puking.”

“I don’t think anyone likes it,” Derek said. Stiles shrugged.

“Even Scott wasn’t sticking around… And I’m pretty sure I puked on you.”

“Nah, just yourself,” Derek said.

“Oh that’s attractive,” Stiles said, hanging his head in shame as he shoved his credit card in the little sleeve. The waiter came and picked it up. They fell silent until the waiter came back. Stiles left a tip and they walked out to the Camaro. “I still feel like I owe you,” Stiles said sliding in the car. Derek shook his head.

“You can make it up to me by buying me ice cream and promising to never puke on me again,” Derek said.

“I thought you said I _didn’t_ puke on you!” Stiles squawked.

“I lied,” Derek said pulling out of the parking spot and driving back to the dorms.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time the first tests rolled around, Stiles found himself very busy. Apparently the first month was some sort of weird transition period and then all of a sudden homework for every class. Stiles also learned how weird it could be sharing a room with someone. Scott liked to leave his wet towel on his bed, and his underwear behind the bathroom door. Scott was weirded out by the fact that Stiles had to pee at around three in the morning every night. It didn’t matter what time Stiles went to bed, he would get up between 2:45 and 3:15 to pee. The weirdness culminated early one morning when Stiles woke up to the sound of Scott cumming softly in the bed next to him.

“That is just gross,” Stiles mumbled as he walked into the bathroom. Allison squeaked a little as Scott started to say something about Stiles being asleep. “Yeah, that makes it so much better…” Stiles said slamming the bathroom door closed. After that they made a schedule so Allison and Scott could have _alone time_ , and Stiles wouldn’t have to wake up to that any more.

Most of the time Stiles would go to the library, stopping in the deli for coffee. One afternoon, Stiles showed up for his usual iced coffee, and found Derek sitting with a young woman with dark black hair and eyes. Derek and Stiles nodded at each other, and Stiles joined them after he got his drink.

“Stiles Stilinski, this is Kira Yukimura. Kira, this is my friend Stiles,” Derek said. Stiles waved. “Stiles probably watches _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. Ask him your questions about Miles-”

“Giles!” Stiles corrected. Kira laughed a little. “Of course I watch Buffy; the real question is, why don’t you?” Derek shrugged. Kira and Stiles immediately began talking about the intricacies of the show, completely losing Derek. After a while, they glanced at him, remembering how they had gotten on the topic.

“We are going to have to fix this,” Kira said. “Agreed?” She asked looking at Stiles who nodded.

“You two doing anything tonight?” They both shook their heads, no. “Tonight. Derek’s. Seven. Kira, you bring the popcorn, and Derek should buy drinks. It has been decided. I have to go work on some stuff until then,” Stiles said getting up and heading towards the library, tripping on his feet a little. 

“I take it I get no say in this?” Derek asked.

“If the boy has access to Buffy, then no. You are going to watch Buffy,” Kira said.

“I like you,” Stiles said pointing at her and winking a little. As he turned, he could hear Derek say, “And that is Stiles. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“Oh I want to,” Kira said. “He’s really cute.” Stiles blushed and nearly tripped again as he pulled the door open to the library. He managed to get a few chapters in before Scott texted him, reminding him that food was a good thing. Sighing, Stiles packed up his things and met Scott, Allison, and their friend Isaac in the caf.

“Hey,” Scott said, moving some of his chem notes. He had a test the next day.

“Hey,” Stiles said shoving some of his extra fries on Scott’s plate. “How goes the studying?”

“I don’t understand how I’m supposed to remember anything.” Scott huffed a little. Stiles leaned over to see what he was working on. They talked for a few minutes while Isaac and Allison talked about the English project they were working on. When they were done eating, Scott leaned on Stiles’s shoulder for a minute. “You going to the library tonight?”

“Nope,” Stiles said. “I’m headed over to Derek’s and we’re going to watch Buffy with another friend. I have no idea when I’ll be back, just text me when it is safe.” Stiles got up and dumped his tray, and ran into Lydia on his way out.

“Wait!” She said grabbing his sleeve. “I just wanted to… It’s really none of my business, but Derek texts you almost constantly, and I want to know: what is going on?”

“Nothing,” Stiles said. “We’re just friends.” Lydia smirked at him a little.

“Sweety, you are more than ‘just friends’. Derek has texted you more in the last month than he did all of his friends in the past twelve,” Lydia said crossing her arms. “Tell me.”

Stiles shrugged, raising his eyebrows. “What do you want from me? We went on a very bad date where he didn’t want to kiss me, he took care of me when I was sick, and we just talk about shit.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know… Tumblr. TV shows. We talked about porn once, but he quickly changed the subject. Mostly we talk about our families and what we ate and movies we like. We’re friends…” Lydia huffed.

“I don’t know why a cute little queer boy like you would feel like you have to lie to me, but whatever. I will find out what’s going on…” She said. Stiles shrugged.

“I have to go, Lydia. I’ll see you Friday…” He left, and she shouted something after him that he ignored. When he got to Derek’s, Kira was already there. 

“Hey,” Stiles said patting Derek’s shoulder. “What did you get to drink?”

“Just a couple of boxes of Capri Sun’s,” Derek said opening his fridge. Stiles pulled out a couple and set his bag down, pulling out his computer. He hooked his computer up to Derek’s TV and put the first episode of Buffy on while Kira started popping the popcorn. Derek closed his laptop and watched as Stiles climbed on his raised bed and plopped up near the head board. Derek sat near the foot of the bed, and when the popcorn was done, Kira flopped in between them, her head in Derek’s lap, and her feet in Stiles’s.

“Is this ok?” She asked, looking down at him. Stiles nodded putting one of his hands on her ankle so he could reach over to get the popcorn. The show started playing, and Stiles immediately started laughing.

“I forgot how cheesy the first episdoed was,” Stiles said.

“Gawd, they are such babies,” Kira said. “I never got over-” She stopped herself.

“I know,” Stiles said patting her ankle.

“What?” Derek asked looking back and forth between them. Stiles shook his head.

“Have you watched anything by Joss Whedon?” Stiles asked.

“ _The Avengers?_ ” Derek said. Kira and Stiles laughed.

“Yeah, that was… Don’t get attached to any of the characters…” Stiles warned.

“What does that mean?” Derek asked.

“You’ll see,” Stiles said.

“That wasn’t at _all_ cryptic.” Kira and Stiles shared a look, giggling. They watched about four episodes before Isaac came home to find them all passed out. He slammed the door and they all jumped.

“Party’s over,” Isaac said. “I’m going to bed.” Stiles yawned and stretched while Kira rubbed her face. They got up, and Stiles collected his computer and bag, while Kira yawned and grabbed her own bag. Stiles walked Kira back to her dorm, checked his phone, and was relieved to find it safe to go home. Once home, he threw his bag on his bed and sat down at his desk, looking over at Scott laying on his back staring at the ceiling.

“Everything ok?” Stiles asked. Scott took a deep breath and sat up.

“It’s-” he paused, biting his lip. “How do you know when you like a guy in like a ‘romantic-way’ and not just a ‘I-want-to-be-him-way’?”

“Well, gee,” Stiles said. “How do you know you like a girl romantically?”

“It’s different,” Scott said. Stiles shook his head.

“I don’t think it is, but I think I derailed your train. You like a guy? Which guy?”

“Isaac,” Scott said, flopping backwards.

“Does Allison know?” Scott shook his head. “Well, does Isaac know?” Scott shrugged. Stiles got up and sat next to Stiles.

“I don’t think so…”

“Do you still love Allison?”

“Yes,” Scott said. “Like, Allison isn’t the problem. Things are great with Allison… I just… I want to-”

“Kiss him?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah, we’ll go with that,” Scott said.

“Good boy,” Stiles said patting his shoulder. “Well, what are you going to do about it?” Stiles asked.

“I have no fucking clue,” Scott said. “I just can’t get him out of my head. I would really like it to stop. How do you deal with it?” Stiles raised his eyebrow. “How do you deal with being in love with someone and not being able to do anything about it…”

“First of all, I am not in love with Derek. Second of all, I am not in love with Derek. And third of all, I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH DEREK!” Stiles said. “I may be _attracted_ to him, and may have a slight crush on him, but _love_...” Scott hit Stiles with his pillow. “Let me know what you decide,” Stiles said getting up and going to the bathroom.

***

They didn’t talk about it again for weeks, and Stiles found himself hanging out more and more with Kira and Derek. They watched Buffy and proofread each other’s English papers and even made a pillow fort. Once. When Derek had had an exceptionally bad day but wouldn’t tell anyone why. All the while, Stiles assumed that Isaac was off doing whatever Isaac did and Scott and Allison had kept up their bajillion hours of lovemaking (gag gag gag gag), but one day Stiles left something in his and Scott’s room, he decided to brave it even though it was a time he’d scheduled to be away. He stood at the door for a few minutes, trying to hear anything, and when he didn’t he opened the door and was shocked to find Scott and Isaac curled up on the bed napping while Allison sat at Scott’s desk with headphones in working on a paper. And they weren’t just laying side by side, no. Isaac was draped all over Scott, their legs obviously tangled under Scott’s comforter. _They were cuddling!_ Stiles tried to be quiet, but stealth was not his forte. He knocked over a large stack of books and DVDs causing everyone in the room to jump.

“Sorry!” Stiles said flailing as he bent to pick up the dropped items, refusing to make eye contact with any of them.

“It’s ok,” Scott mumbled sleepily. He nudged Isaac into a sitting position and sat up. Stiles glanced over long enough to see that while Scott was only in his boxers and t-shirt, Isaac still had his pants on. “We needed to get up anyway,” he said walking over to Stiles to help him clean up, yawning loudly. Nodding, Stiles shoved most of the things on his bed and then grabbed his book, retreating into the hall. When he got back to Derek’s, Derek could tell something was wrong but no amount of prodding could get Stiles to open up, so eventually Derek left him alone.

Stiles stalled that night going home by going to the library to drop off some over due book. Scott had waited up for him though, and this time he was fully awake and dressed.

“I take it you talked to them?” Stiles asked setting his bag on his chair.

“No, I couldn’t find the words,” Scott said. “It was hard enough telling you. I want to date them both. I like them both a lot. I just don’t…” He sighed. “I’m not ready to talk about this. Can we not talk about this right now?”

“Sure,” Stiles said. “But you should do something soon before Isaac gets bored, or Allison thinks you want to leave her.” Scott nodded and hugged Stiles tight. “It’ll be ok, you big goof ball. Just relax.” Scott nodded, holding tighter and longer than was strictly necessary, but eventually letting go.

***

Scott must have found some words to say to them, because a few weeks later Stiles walked in his room to find them in a lumpy, naked pile on the floor at six in the morning. Taking one look at them, Stiles simply closed the door and backed away. They would wake up eventually, and until then he would steal Isaac’s bed because he knows he saw one of his own blankets in the pile and they owed him big time.


	5. Chapter 5

Midterms came and went. Stiles, Derek, and Kira had gotten through most of Season 4 of Buffy which Derek was rather unimpressed with, but kept watching because Stiles insisted Season 5 was amazing. The fact that Isaac, Scott, and Allison were dating was all over the school, but none of them seemed to mind. There were also rumors that Stiles, Derek, and Kira were dating, but Kira and Stiles just laughed while Derek simply rolled his eyes, his mouth a thin line. He kept trying to pair up Kira and Stiles. Stiles found excuses to not go, until finally one afternoon he ran out of excuses.

“ _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ is playing at the Old Theater,” Derek said one afternoon. “You and Kira should go check it out.”

“I have-”

“You said you finished it and that’s why you’ve been playing COD for the past hour and a half,” Derek said. Stiles stuck his tongue out at Derek.

“What are you doing tonight?” He asked, and Derek smirked a little.

“You do realize you’ve been here every night this week, right?” Derek pointed out. Stiles blushed a little.

“Ok, got it…” He said laughing. He paused the game and pulled out his phone. _Hey Kira, wanna go see Rocky Horror tonight?_ Stiles got up and stretched as Derek yawned and threw down his book. Stiles had the overwhelming urge to curl up in Derek’s lap and take a nap but instead went to the door mumbling something about the bathroom. No matter how many times he told other people there was nothing going on between him and Derek, he knew he was lying. He _knew_ Derek felt _something_ , he just couldn’t (or wouldn’t… ugh) do anything about it. After peeing, Stiles returned to Derek’s room and checked his phone. He had a text from Kira. _Sure! We’ll meet at my place?_ They hashed out the details, as Stiles packed up his things and ruffled Derek’s hair.

“I’ll see yah. Don’t have too much fun tonight,” Stiles said.

“Pfft,” was all Derek said as Stiles pulled the door closed and went back to his room. Allison, Isaac, and Scott were quizzing each other for chem when Stiles came in.

“Hey,” Stiles said. “You guys wanna come see Rocky Horror with Kira and I tonight?”

“No Derek?” Allison asked.

Stiles shrugged. “I think he wanted a night off… Although who could resist this…?” He asked indicating to himself as he tripped over a stack of books.

“Who indeed?” Isaac asked, laughing and helping him up. Stiles grabbed some clothes and headed for the shower.

The night started off well enough when he picked up Kira, and drove them to the theater; he bought the tickets and she bought the popcorn. They found fairly good seats despite the theater being crowded. Most of the people there knew the callbacks, and there were a few people in costume, but it wasn’t anything like Stiles knew these shows could go. Kira surprised him, and while she didn’t know most of the callbacks, she did know the Time Warp and got up to dance with nearly the entire audience. When the movie was over, they left dying with laughter. After the movie, they went and got ice cream, which Kira couldn’t help but laugh about because it was so cold out.

“It’s too late for coffee,” Stiles pointed out as they sat down, the only customers in the shop.

“That’s what decaf is for…” Kira said as she scooped up some of her ice cream.

“Oh? Well if you feel like that, then I’ll just take my ice cream back…” Stiles said reaching over to take back the dessert. Kira giggled, and pulled away.

“I never said I didn’t want the ice cream,” she said. Stiles sat back down, laughing. They fell silent as they focused on their desserts in earnest. “I’m- I- I’m just going to say this… I really like you,” she said. “I’m really glad we were able to do this…” She reached across the table and slid her fingers in Stiles’s. His spoon fell from his hand and Stiles immediately felt his mouth go dry.

Swallowing a few times he managed, “It’s fun- tonight has been fun, yes.” They finished their ice cream quickly and then went out to Stiles’s Jeep, laughing about how they could see their breaths. Stiles drove them back to campus, the heat blasting but he just couldn’t shake the tension from his body. In the parking lot, they took off their seatbelts, but neither of them moved to get out of the Jeep. Stiles tapped nervously on the steering wheel when Kira reached across the gear shifts and tugged Stiles over, kissing him roughly. “And the night just gets funner.”

“More fun,” she corrected and they laughed. Stiles pulled her closer, kissing her, managing to relax a little as he enjoyed how soft she was. They were just starting to get into it when someone crashed into the back of the Jeep with a loud crunching noise. They jumped and Stiles got out as Kira was telling him to wait. Out of the corner of his eye Stiles swore he saw a blur run past. Who or whatever it was had disappeared, and the spare tire was completely bent.

“Fuck,” Stiles whispered to himself, feeling his heartbeat start to pick up some. Looking around once more, he turned to get back in the Jeep when he heard loud footsteps and panting behind him. He turned just in time to catch Allison who was gasping for breath.

“We-run-in-now!” She gasped, eyes wide and hair askew. And _was that blood on her jacket_?

“What? Where’s Scott and Isaac?” Stiles asked as bile rose in the back of his throat. Allison shook her head, clutching her side. “Come on,” Stiles said pulling her to the front of the Jeep. They heard howling and Stiles’s heart skipped a beat. (Was this a dream?) Kira got out of the Jeep.

“We need to get inside and call Derek,” Kira said. Stiles pulled his keys out of the ignition and slammed the front door. They walked quickly to the front lobby, Kira pulling out her phone dialing before they were safely inside.

“Something happened,” she said when he picked up. (This had to be a dream.) “I don’t know… I think… You need to go find Scott and Isaac.” She paused. “I don’t know. Allison just showed up, and-” She paused again. “We’re at my place… Yeah, sure. We’ll keep her with us. Let me-” She sighed and pocketed her phone. “Come on up to my room…”

“What’s going on?” Allison asked.

“With your father being who he is, I’m surprised you have to ask,” Kira said leading them to the elevator.

“What does that mean?” Allison asked. Kira glanced at Allison and then away as they waited. In the elevator, Allison took out her phone and texted her dad. When they got to Kira’s room, Stiles and Allison sat on Kira’s bed not looking at each other while Kira locked the door and peered out the window while texting someone. Allison’s phone went off and she got up and retreated to the bathroom.

“You know what’s going on,” Stiles said.

“Yeah,” Kira said sitting at her desk.

“Are you going to tell me?” He asked.

“No,” she said. He gaped at her. “It’s not my business.”

“Well then whose is it?” Stiles asked, annoyed. “Where is Scott?”

“How should I know?” Kira asked.

“Does Derek know what is going on?” Stiles asked. Kira nodded and he pulled out his phone.

“He won’t answer,” she said. There was a crash from the bathroom and then Allison yelling she was fine. Kira shook her head and got up to peer out the window again. Stiles’s phone dinged with a text message from Derek. _Stay where you are. We are coming there._

_What do you mean WE?!?_ Stiles responded. There was another loud crash from the parking lot. Stiles huffed a little and tugged on his hair. This had to be a nightmare, a fucking nightmare where everyone ignored him. It had been a long time since he’d had one like this. He was waiting for the punch line, the scary monster to jump out, to stumble across his mom’s dead corpse, or maybe this time his dad’s. Stiles knew he needed to calm down, but he couldn’t. He curled up on the bed, knees under his chin, his breathing too fast. He felt hot and like he was going to throw up. Something had happened to Scott and he didn’t know what he was going to do.

_BANGBANGBANG!_

Stiles screamed and jumped, flailing back on the bed. Kira opened the door. Derek and Isaac stood in the doorway holding up Scott.

“Do you have any first aid stuff?” Derek asked shoving his way in. Stiles scooted back on the bed so they could set Scott down. He was pale but awake, and didn’t look terrible except his side-oh gawd, his side. Stiles _really_ thought he was going to be sick. There was so much blood. Allison came out of the bathroom, also looking pale. Kira brushed past her and grabbed her first aid kit.

“That’s all I have,” she said handing it to Derek. _That can’t possibly be enough… He needs-Oh fuck! Oh Christ!_ Derek took it and went to the bed while Isaac and Allison went out into the hall.

“Stiles, I need-” Derek looked at Stiles and took a deep breath. “Stiles, it’s ok. Scott is going to be ok; I need you to breathe and focus, ok? Scott is going to be fine, but he needs your help. Here, take his hand.” Stiles took his best friend’s hand as Scott whimpered a little. “Talk to him, Stiles. Keep him distracted.” Stiles squeezed Scott’s hand and Scott looked up at him.

“Hey, buddy,” Stiles said.

“Hey,” Scott said.

“What-what happened?”

“We got jumped,” Scott said as Derek lifted up the side of his shirt. “The guy must have- he bit me before- before Isaac attacked him. Is Allison ok?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. She- she’s talking to Isaac right now.”

“Good,” Scott said. “Did you- did you have fun on your date?” Stiles laughed a little.

“Holy crap,” Derek said to Kira. “It’s- it’s already healing some…”

“How can that be?” Kira asked. “Doesn’t the healing take time?”

“I don’t- this is beyond my-have you gotten ahold of my mother?”

“Talia and Chris will be here within half an hour,” Kira said. There was a gentle knock on the door and a blonde woman came in.

“Derek,” she said. “We lost the omega…”

“It’s fine, Erica,” Derek said, still focused on bandaging up Scott’s side.

“I had fun,” Stiles said. “But it wasn’t a date. Or if it was, I didn’t mean it to be.”

“Kira is cute,” Scott said, his breath evening out. His color was returning, too.

“Hey now! You can’t have all the cuties!” Stiles teased. “You have to leave some for everyone else. Next you’re going to tell me you like Derek…”

“No,” Scott said shaking his head. “No, I know you like him too much.” Scott closed his eyes and fell asleep. Stiles let go of his hand and got up shoving at Derek’s shoulder.

“What is going on!” He growled.

“In a minute,” Derek said adding the last piece of tape. “Alright, let’s go talk.” He grabbed Stiles’s sleeve and dragged him towards the hall but Stiles dug his heels into the carpet.

“No. I don’t want to go anywhere with you until you tell me what is going on…” Derek turned and looked at Stiles.

“You are so stubborn!” Derek said. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “So you know when we were watching Buffy and I was getting pissed about Oz and the portrayal of werewolves?”

“I have to be fucking dreaming. That’s what this is. I’m dreaming. This is a nightmare. Werewolves aren’t real, and I would _never_ go on a date with Kira. Not when- fuck!” Stiles said, his heart racing again, suddenly aware that Kira was in the room and if this wasn’t a dream he was fucked. “Just tell me what happened to my best friend.”

“A rogue werewolf bit him. Looks like it was a rogue alpha with the way Scott’s healing.”

“What does that mean?” Stiles asked.

“That means he’s changing into a werewolf,” Derek said calmly. Stiles blanched. “My mom and Chris Argent are coming to take care of the werewolf, and help me talk to Scott.”

“Wait, you mean Allison’s dad?”

“Yeah… He comes from a long line of hunters. When Allison was about four, he and my mom made a pact. He realized my family wasn’t a threat to any humans, and so he swore off hunting. His father disowned him. When Allison turned 16, her mom, Victoria, wanted to tell Allison about her _destiny_ or whatever, but Chris wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t want Allison to know about the life,” Derek said.

“I- we grew up in the same town? You knew about us- her before?”

“Only when we were younger. My family moved when I was about seven. And yes,” Derek said. Stiles sighed.

“This all still feels unreal,” he said.

“I- I didn’t want you to find out like this,” Derek said.

“You were going to tell me?” Stiles asked. “Is this why you don’t want-”

“I was, and it is part of it,” Derek said. “It’s- there’s more, too. It’s complicated.” Stiles sighed.

“Yeah, because being a werewolf is so simple…”

“It is,” Derek said. Stiles gestured in frustration at him, obviously contemplating strangling him. “Stay with Scott. I’m going to go wait for my mom.” Derek left the room and Stiles went to sit by Scott, trying to not look at Kira who was staring out the window.

“I’m sorry,” Stiles finally said. “It’s not you…”

“I see the way he looks at you,” Kira said. “I knew better…”

“I was rude, though; I shouldn’t have said it like that…” Stiles said, looking at her.

“It’s ok, Stiles. I see the way you look at him, too. One day maybe I won’t be into the emotionally unavailable.” She laughed a little and went to sit in front of him on her desk. “Still friends?” She held out her hand. Stiles shook it.

“Still friends. We still need to finish Buffy with Derek, the uneducated troglodyte that he is,” he said and Kira laughed.

“I hope you two figure it out soon,” she said kicking at Stiles’s knee. “You’ll be good together.” Stiles laughed and settled lower on the seat. Scott sighed in his sleep.

“Is this normal?” Stiles asked pointing at Scott.

“I don’t know,” Kira said. “I’m not a werewolf.” The door behind them opened and Derek came in leading a woman who could be none other than his mother followed by Chris Argent. Allison was berating him with questions, but he was ignoring her.

“Hi, Stiles,” Chris said, putting his heavy hand on his shoulder.

“Hi, Mr. Argent,” Stiles said getting up. Derek tugged at his sleeve; he pulled him and Allison out the door.

“Allison, I want you to stay with Stiles tonight. You’ll drive us over there,” Derek said to Stiles. “You stay inside until the morning. I’ll let you know what’s going on if I can. We have to try and get the rogue before he attacks anyone else.” They walked down to the parking lot and got in Stiles’s Jeep. Derek sat in the back, not paying attention to them, ears perked. They made it to Stiles’s dorm without incident, and Derek walked them up to Stiles’s room silently. Derek was gone as soon as his two charges crossed the threshold. Stiles locked the door and dug through Scott’s dresser for a shirt that Allison could sleep in.

“Did you know about any of that?” She asked, turning around. Stiles shook his head, no. “I need you to tell me the truth, Stiles. Did you know?”

“No, I swear, Allison,” he said handing her a shirt.

“Fuck,” she said taking the shirt. “Is Scott going to be ok?”

“Yes,” Stiles said. “They said something about healing, and how he’s doing it much faster than they thought.”

“Is he going to be-is he-”

“I think so…” Stiles said.

“And Isaac-”

“-is one. And you come from a long line of hunters…” Stiles said. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Ok,” she said. “Just making sure I wasn’t-”

“-dreaming?” She nodded. “No,” Stiles said. “This is very real.” She nodded again and went into the bathroom. Stiles stripped down to his boxers and pulled on some pyjama pants. His phone went off. It was a text from Derek. _Scott is awake. We are leaving him with Kira. We’re going out to find the rogue. Keep the door locked._ He laid down on his bed, heart pounding and eyes wide open. Allison came out eventually, glanced at Scott’s bed, and bit her lip. “You can sleep with me if you want…” Stiles said lifting his blanket and Allison climbed in next to him, pulling his arms close around her. It took a long time for either of them to fall asleep.

***

_Tap, tap, tap!_ Stiles grunted. _Tap, tap, tap!_ He grunted again. “Stiles, open the door.” Stiles got up, groaning. He unlocked and opened the door, and was immediately engulfed by a pair of arms.

“Stiles!” Scott said. Allison was up in an instant, throwing her arms around Scott as soon as Scott let go of Stiles.

“You’re alright,” she said, her voice catching in her throat. “Oh baby-” She kissed his cheek repeatedly. In the hall, Isaac watched them looking tired. Stiles slipped out the door just in time to see Derek slinking down the hall.

“Wait,” Stiles called rushing to catch up. Derek turned. He looked completely drained. Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. Thank you for…” But Derek was shaking and Stiles was lost for words, so he just held Derek close, stroking his hair until he found his voice. “What’s going on?”

“Tired,” Derek said. “I need to go talk to my mom.” He pulled out of Stiles’s grip. Stiles let him go. “I’m better now. I’ll explain later.” Stiles nodded and Derek rushed towards the elevator and out of sight. Stiles headed back to his room and found Scott and the others in a pile on the floor. Grabbing a shirt and his laptop, Stiles went down to the lobby. He plugged in his computer and put on Community. He suddenly felt too keyed up to sleep. He got through a few episodes before people started filtering through for breakfast, looking at Stiles curiously.

Eventually Allison came down to let her dad, Derek, and Derek’s mom in. Stiles followed them to the elevator saying nothing, staring down at his feet, wondering for the first time how much his dad did or did not know about this and whether or not it would be helpful to know about being a sheriff.

Walking down the hall, Derek held Stiles back a little. “Let them go talk to the others. I want to just sit for a few…” They sat down just outside of Stiles’s room.

“What are they talking about in there?”

“Hmm? Oh… My mom is just explaining to Scott how important it is to keep what happened a secret, but also how he has to tell his mom within the week.”

“A week? Why does he have to tell her?” Stiles asked.

“Because it is the right thing to do. What would you as Scott’s friend feel if he didn’t tell you?”

“That’s different,” Stiles said.

“Is it?” Derek asked. He took a deep breath and leaned on Stiles’s shoulder.

“Did you get the omega?” Stiles asked. Derek grimaced, but nodded. Stiles slipped his fingers in Derek’s.

“It was taken care of.”

“I don’t want to know, do I?”

“Nope,” Derek said taking his hand. “To be honest, I don’t want to know. I’ve never- I never had to help with something like that… It was… disturbing, to say the least.”

“Is it weird that I keep just being thankful it’s Saturday?” Stiles asked. Derek laughed a little, squeezing his hand.

“No, I think it’s fine,” he mumbled and fell asleep, head cradled by Stiles’s shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days felt like a blur to Stiles. Talia talked to Scott for a few hours, and then went back pretty quickly. Chris got a hotel room and stayed until Sunday night. He seemed strangely cool about the fact that his daughter was dating two werewolves. It probably helped that both were officially in the Hale pack. (Stiles also suspected that he was pretending for Allison’s benefit… She had just come very close to death after all.) Stiles learned later that the blonde woman that had come in when Derek was cleaning up Scott was Erica and she and her boyfriend, Boyd, were also werewolves; a part of Derek’s pack. Isaac, Boyd, and Eric were in and out of Scott and Stiles’s room almost constantly. Stiles wasn’t even sure what they were doing in there half the time. Derek was in and out, but barely looked at Stiles, much less talked to him. Instead of being butthurt by this, Stiles tried to focus on the fact that Scott had just been bitten and there were all sorts of things Derek had to tell Scott. Kira was there a lot, too. They curled up on Stiles’s bed most of the time reading and doing homework, just watching as the wolves went in and out.

For the most part, Stiles was ok during the day, but at night he lay there listening to his best friend breathing (sometimes with a partner or both), and he couldn’t help but wonder at the fact that it could have been him. It could so easily have turned out so many other horrific ways. As much as he tried to tell himself that he was fine, that in reality Scott was fine, he still woke up in a cold sweat every night, haunted by dreams of what if… What if Stiles had been bitten as well? What if Scott had bled out? What Allison had gotten killed? He tried to not think about it as he laid in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Scott got absolutely no homework done that weekend, and Stiles felt for him as he tried to explain their English reading on the way to class. Halfway through class Scott passed out on his desk. The professor kept him after class to lecture him some, and when he came out Scott was furious.

“That asshole is making me do a make up assignment _and_ turn in the homework for today,” he said huffing down the hall. Allison, Isaac, and Stiles chased after him.

“Just stay calm,” Allison said. “It’ll be ok. We’ll help you.” Scott growled a little, putting his head to the wall, and thudding it some.

“I _am_ calm,” he said, his breathing slowing. “I’m just tired and Derek wants to do more training tonight.”

“I can talk to him,” Isaac offered. “You need time to sleep and regroup. You haven’t slept well since…” Stiles nodded. Sometimes Scott would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. That was the worst.

“It’s fine,” Scott said, pulling away from the wall. “Let’s just… Let’s just go.” They went back to Stiles and Scott’s room and found Derek sprawled across Stiles’s bed, passed out. Stiles stifled a giggle as he set his bag down.

“I think a relaxing night is what we all need,” Stiles said as Derek rolled over and looked at them, blearily.

“The door was unlocked,” he said, rubbing his face. He had gone from stubble to full on beard in a matter of days. Stiles scooted on the bed next to him.

“How about tonight, we have like a movie mixer night where the pack comes here and we just play COD and watch bad movies?” Stiles asked, leaning so he was flopped over Derek.

“Movie, yes; COD, no. Until Scott finds his anchor, nothing stressful,” Derek said wrapping his arms around Stiles’s waist. “Maybe we could watch Buffy?”

“Sure, big guy,” Stiles said rubbing his back. Derek rolled over, pulling Stiles with him. “I guess it’s naptime first?” Stiles said, giggling.

“Shut up, Stiles, and go to sleep.” Stiles curled up into Derek’s chest, giggling a little. Scott, Isaac, and Allison made a nest on the floor and soon they were out as well. Stiles didn’t care that it was the perfect time to nap or that he was physically exhausted; he fought sleep. The last thing he needed was Derek to know he was having nightmares. But he was so comfortable, and it was so quiet, and Derek’s heartbeat was so steady, so reassuring that it wasn’t long before Stiles slipped under.

It was dark, and Stiles’s calves were cramping but he knew he had to keep running. Something was right behind him, he could hear the footsteps on the pavement behind him. Stiles looked for somewhere he could stop and catch his breath. There was nothing. The parking lot was empty. There were no cars, no people, no anything. Stiles kept running, trying to not look over his shoulder because he knew he’d trip then.

“Stiles!” A voice called. Stiles turned and saw Derek’s Camaro. It was Derek’s voice that was calling to him. Stiles ran towards the Camaro, his breath short and ragged. Sliding on the gravel, Stiles tried to keep from falling and ended up sliding on his stomach, and the rocks cut into his stomach, arms, and hands. “Stiles…” Stiles got up and looked in the Camaro. It was empty. And locked. The shadow was closer. Stiles could hear it. It was there. It was behind him, grabbing him, holding him!

“No! Let me go!” Stiles clawed at the hands on him, his heart jackhammering in his chest. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

“Stiles! Wake up!” Derek called. Stiles gasped, still clawing when he came to. “Stiles, it’s ok…” Derek said reassuringly. “You’re safe. You’re safe, Stiles.” Stiles swallowed, pulling Derek close, his heart still racing. “It’s ok,” Derek said brushing his nose through Stiles’s hair.

“Are they-did I-” Derek shook his head.

“Still out.” Stiles took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Has that been happening a lot?”

“The nightmares?” Derek nodded. “Every time I sleep. Just a shadow chasing me. Usually I wake up before it gets any where near me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Derek said.

“It’s not your fault,” Stiles said as Derek wrapped a leg around Stiles’s. Someone snuffled on the other side of the room. “I want to get up though. I should do some homework. You can sleep or whatever,” Stiles said pulling himself up, and Derek sat up too.

“I’ll be back,” he said and was gone before Stiles could respond. Stiles grabbed his bag, pulled it on the bed with him, and pulled out some of his books, blinking sleepily at the pages, still sleepy. After knocking on the door, Derek slipped in and sat on the bed next to Stiles. He pulled out some complicated looking math work sheets and a calculator. His foot brushed against Stiles’s and stayed there. They worked in silence for another hour before the puppy pile stirred. Isaac was up first, slipping quietly to the door to pee; Allison groaned next, stretching, and checking her phone for the time; Scott woke up a few minutes later when Isaac flopped on him.

“I’m hungry,” Isaac complained.

“Let me finish this problem set,” Derek said. “Then we can go to the caf.”

“I’ll text Erica and Boyd,” Isaac said. Everyone was quiet as Derek mumbled under his breath, writing, erasing, and rewriting. Looking at it Stiles could sort of see where it was going if he squinted, but the farthest up in math he’d gone was pre-calc in high school. Finally Derek nodded, boxed in some numbers in, and closed his notebook, shoving it to the side. He looked at Isaac who said, “They are meeting us at the caf and Kira is with them.” Derek nodded. They got up, retrieved hoodies and jackets, and walked to the caf.

Erica, Boyd, and Kira were already there, sitting and picking at their bland food. Stiles immediately went for the burger bar and made a double with lots of fries on the side. He sat down in between Derek and Scott who had both gone to the salad bar. Derek stayed quiet for most of the meal, seeming more interested in his salad than the Marvel conversation that had sprung up amongst the pack. They were trying to decide who was who, but no one could really agree.

“Anyone up for Buffy?” Derek asked during a lull. “We’re just starting season 5.” Immediately everyone started talking about Captain Cardboard, Anya, Giles, and Dawn all while Stiles and Kira tried to shoosh them, telling them that Derek had never seen it before. And that’s how they ended up staying up until three in the morning watching Buffy in Stiles and Scott’s room.

***

The week went by quickly. Stiles continued to fight sleep, and the nightmares just got worse. He annoyed Scott, Allison, and Isaac into sleeping in Derek and Isaac’s room on Friday night because he refused to stop playing COD, but he didn’t care. Derek came over at around three in the morning and tried to get him to sleep but eventually gave up and started playing with Stiles.

Later that afternoon, Scott still hadn’t called his mom so Derek had isaac steal Scott’s phone and they texted Melissa that Scott wanted to Skype with her at six. When Scott found out what they had done, he was pissed, but knew there was no way Melissa was going to let him out of it. They ate dinner as a pack, like they had done every night that week and then they went to Scott’s room. Everyone but Stiles, Scott, and Derek piled on Stiles’s bed because it was out of sight of the camera. Stiles sat on his desk fiddling with his pens while Scott and Derek sat in front of the computer on Scott’s desk waiting for Melissa to call.

“I can’t believe you are making me do this…” Scott muttered.

“It’s better this way,” Derek said rubbing his back.

“My parents found out even though I didn’t want to tell them. That was six months ago. We haven’t talked since,” Erica said.

“What if-”

“Your mom isn’t going to do that,” Stiles interrupted. “It will be ok.” Skype started ringing, and everyone fell silent. Scott answered it with a shaky hand.

“Hey, baby,” Melissa McCall said as the screen started working on both sides.

“Hey, mom,” Scott said.

“What couldn’t wait until Thanksgiving? And who is that? Is he your boyfriend?” Everyone giggled.

“No, he’s Stiles’s almost-boyfriend,” Scott said.

“Alright, definitely a conversation for a different day. Why is he-”

“Because… Fuck, I can’t do this, Derek. I don’t have the-”

“Is Allison pregnant? Is she ok?” Melissa asked. Allison squeaked.

“No, gawd no. I mean, she’s fine,” Scott said. “This is about me… I guess…”

Derek sighed. “Ms. McCall, I’m Derek Hale, I think you knew my-”

“Oh my- What happened?” Her voice shook.

“There was a rogue werewolf. I was taking Allison back to her dorm, and it attacked. Derek bandaged me up, and the next morning Chris Argent and Talia came. They took it down before it could hurt anyone else. They’ve been trying to help me all week maintain control and find my anchor,” Scott said.

“Are you- are you ok?” She asked.

“Yeah, mom, I’m ok. Tired and stressed, but ok.” Scott twiddled with a pen.

“When are you coming home?” She asked.

“Not till Thanksgiving,” Scott said. Melissa nodded.

“Derek, do you think- could I have-”

“I’ll have Scott text you my mom’s number,” Derek said.

“How many-”

“Four werewolves, myself included, a kitsune, and Scott and Stiles,” Derek said.

“I don’t think Stiles should be mixed up in this,” Melissa said and Stiles jumped off the desk and shoved his way into the view of the camera.

“Hey mom, I’m already mixed up in this. I’m not letting Scotty go through this alone,” Stiles said slapping Scott on the shoulder. Melissa sighed.

“Well, when are you telling your dad?” Melissa asked. Stiles raised his eyebrow, and Melissa looked pointedly at Derek. Stiles glanced back at the pack. He shrugged.

“It- It’s nothing…” He mumbled, and Derek winced. Melissa took a deep breath, looking down at her desk, trying to not cry. “It’s just another month…” Stiles reminded her, rubbing his eyebrow a little.

“Yeah,” she cleared her throat, wiping her eye a little, trying to smile. “I know.” She fell silent for a minute. “Should I fill the Sheriff in about the werewolf thing?” Derek nodded.

“My mom trusts him,” Derek said, nodding.

“Talia would,” Melissa said with a small smile. “You watch out for my kiddos…” She seemed to hesitate. “I wish I could see you before Thanksgiving.”

“We miss you too, mom,” Stiles said. Derek got up to let Scott and Stiles talk to Melissa for a few minutes. By the time he came back from the bathroom, Stiles was closing Scott’s laptop. Derek took a deep breath. _Crisis one down…_ he thought to himself.

“Everyone out,” Derek rumbled. “Everyone but Stiles.” Stiles squawked as everyone left. When they were alone, he turned to Stiles and said, “What can I do to help you sleep?”

“Nothing,” Stiles said getting up and turning on his PS3. Derek got up and unplugged it and and the TV. Stiles gaped at him. “I’m fine.”

“You’re exhausted,” Derek said.

“ _I’m fine_ ,” Stiles repeated, flopping on his stomach on his bed. Derek said nothing. Stiles sat up, suddenly angry. “I’m fine! You’re not even my boyfriend! What gives you-” But then Derek was crossing the room, his eyes blazing yellow. Stiles might have yelped but he wasn’t sure.

“-the right?” Derek finished for him, grabbing and twisting his wrist painfully. “You have just said you are in _my_ pack. I am _your_ alpha. Let me explain how this works. I’m in charge and I get to decide when something is important…” Derek relaxed his grip a little. “Tell me what I can do.” Stiles swallowed and blinked rapidly, pushing back his tear. He _was_ tired but he had no idea as to what to do. Derek picked up Stiles like he was a little kid, wrapping his arms around him, cradling him in his lap. Stiles didn’t even bother to put up a protest, just gave into the inevitable, the tears flowing despite himself.

“Maybe we could watch something really quiet… and maybe then…” Stiles said. Derek reached over and grabbed Stiles’s laptop, and put it on his lap so Stiles could put something on. He picked _Lilo & Stitch_ even though it made him think of his mom, becuase he figured maybe that was what he needed tonight. He handed the computer back to Derek who put it on the desk. Stiles rolled on his stomach, his legs between Derek’s and his head resting on his chest. Stiles was asleep before Lilo even started yelling about Pudge the fish.

Stiles fell in and out of consciousness. The nightmares were there, but every time he woke up so was Derek. And Derek would just restart the movie, rub his back and shush him until he fell back into a fitful sleep. Finally at around six in the morning, Stiles managed to fall asleep and not wake up again until nearly ten. When he woke up, Derek had curled around him, holding him tightly, and snoring against his forehead. Stiles leaned over to grab his phone for a quick picture but Derek batted at his arm.

“Do it and I’ll eat you for breakfast…” Stiles giggled a little and nuzzled back into Derek’s chest not saying anything.


	7. Chapter 7

The pack settled into a routine. Derek realized quickly that one of Scott’s biggest stressors was not being prepared for class, so he started making the pack have designated study hours. None of them were ecstatic about this, but they also didn’t complain. Scott still didn’t know what what his anchor was, and Derek seemed strained.

During Thanksgiving break he made Scott check in with him once a day, but there was really no need. They had invited Derek to come celebrate with them, but he declined knowing his mother would never forgive him. Stiles, Allison, and Scott’s families came together as they did at every major holiday and ate far too much. The youngsters offered to wash dishes, leaving their parents to talk. If Melissa had told the Sheriff about Scott being a werewolf, he showed no sign of it.

Once back at school, they focused on their finals, not having much time for anything else. They practically lived in the library, and when they weren’t there, they were in either Stiles and Scott’s or Isaac and Derek’s rooms napping and studying. Derek mentioned once needing to get off campus housing to make the pack a stronger unit, but no definite plans were made.

When finals were over, the pack celebrated by marathoning Buffy and pigging out on too much junk food. The next morning, they packed up their separate cars and drove home for the holidays.

Stiles had forgotten how empty the house was. He went to Scott’s and they played COD without telling Derek, but then Allison was there too sometimes, and Stiles felt like a third wheel. They missed Isaac. When Stiles couldn’t take them any more he called his friend Caitlin from high school and she dragged him to different parties where he made out with willing partners but not really pursuing it further, and laughed when they tried. Sometimes, they called him names, but he didn’t care. Once a guy even tried to punch him, but Scott got in the way and they had to leave quickly after that because Scott was starting to wolf out, and they couldn’t have that.

By the time Spring Semester rolled around, Stiles was very happy to be back if only because he had consistency. The nightmares had eased up, although the occasional one did sneak in, he felt like he was finally returning to normal.

***

Spring Semester was full of school activity. Stiles worked harder in the QSA to keep from having to watch Scott, Allison, and Isaac. He wasn’t exactly jealous of them… He was just very attracted to someone who was very, very aloof. After that night, Derek had kept his distance. The distance followed into the spring, and Stiles had to wonder if the night ever happened or if it had just been a hallucination caused by him not sleeping for some 36 hours straight.

But sometimes he caught Derek looking at him, smiling almost even.

Stiles didn’t think he could take a whole summer away from school (or away from Derek), so he signed up for summer classes and got the pack to as well. When Derek heard, he announced he’d rented a house a few blocks from school, which didn’t particularly please the parents, but the pack decided it was for the best. Talia even came to help them set up some wards in case other packs came along to disturb them.

That first night they were all in there, Stiles couldn’t remember being happier. Derek had the master bedroom on the second floor. Scott, Allison, and Isaac were sharing a room on the second floor, while Erica and Boyd picked the room on the first floor. Kira took the basement for herself which left Stiles with the attic. Stiles loved it. Everything was slanted, even the windows. Stiles set his bed right next to the window. He put up his important posters, and set up his TV angling it just so their was no glare. Scott came up sometimes to check on him, to just hang out. Once they even fell asleep playing COD but they would never admit it to anyone.

***

Everything was going really well until Allison’s mom showed up some time early June at three in the morning.

Stiles woke up with a start. He went to the window to see what was going on, but couldn’t see anything. He opened his door, and heard the raised voices. Stiles grabbed some basketball shorts and went to the top of the stairs.

“Do not touch me!” Victoria growled. “I am here to speak with my daughter.” Derek was glaring at her, obviously trying to not shift.

“It is three in the morning. Come back at a decent hour. And then. Maybe.”

“What so you can call that mongrel of a mother of yours?” Victoria spat. Allison came down the stairs from the second floor. She was wearing a loose t-shirt and (probably) Scott’s boxers.

“Mom?”

“Go back to bed,” Derek said, not looking up.

“She is not one of your _pack_!” Victoria spat, and looked up at her daughter. “Allison…”

“Mom, what are you do-”

“Allison!” Derek growled. Allison hesitated, but came down.

“It’s alright, Derek,” she said, touching his back. Scott and Isaac stood at the top of the stairs in their boxers. Stiles could see Scott’s tattoo on his bicep, and he watched those two consistent stripes as he walked down with Scott and Isaac, willing Derek to not look up the stairs and see them. “What mom? What is so important?”

“You changed your number.”

“I had to,” Allison said. “You wouldn’t stop calling. My friends couldn’t get through.”

“If you had-”

“Couldn’t you take a hint?! I’m not like you. I never have been. And I never will be!” Allison shouted. “Dad told me! He told me that you didn’t care! That you once almost killed Derek when he was a child because he _dared_ wander onto your property… He told me about how much you hate werewolves even though you don’t know any of them.”

“I didn’t… Obviously…” She said glancing at Derek who bristled. “And I know enough _about_ them to send you screaming from this house…”

“You’re pathetic. Get out of my house! I _don’t_ want to talk to you!” Allison yelled, pointing at the door.

“Please, can’t we just…” Victoria seemed to lose her confidence. Finally.

“No! We _can’t. Just._ ” Allison said. “I’ll have dad call you in the morning when he gets to town. You can talk to him. I’m done.” She went back up the stairs. Stiles could see the tears in her eyes.

“Allison…” Allison paused but didn’t turn.

“You heard me. Get. Out.” She walked up to Scott and Isaac, letting them lead her into their room. Victoria caught sight of Stiles who crossed his arms and glared down at her, his whole body sending off waves of _fuck off_.

“You heard Allison,” Derek said. Victoria hesitated.

“I’ll be back at-”

“When Chris calls you, and if you’re here before then, don’t think we won’t hesitate to call the police.” Victoria left. Derek slammed the door behind her and bolted it. Stiles hesitated at the top of the stairs, watching Derek pace and stare out the window. Ten minutes later and he was still at it. Stiles walked down the stairs. “Go to bed, Stiles,” Derek said not even looking up, and Stiles paused.

“You need to sleep too… Staying awake will not-” Derek looked up at Stiles, his eyes glowing. “That doesn’t scare me,” Stiles said, although his heart did quicken a little. Derek smirked.

“Go to bed,” he said again. Stiles shook his head, still coming down the stairs.

“She won’t come back until the morning. Allison is already on the phone with her dad, I’m sure. He’ll be here very soon…” He was three feet from Derek. One more step and he could have touched him. “Why don’t we sit on the couch and watch TV?” Stiles offered, taking that step forward and reaching out for Derek’s sleeve. Derek stayed tense, and glowered, but allowed himself to be dragged to the couch. Stiles picked up the remote and started flipping through channels. He settled on old re-runs of _Community_ , and sat there wishing he dared lean across the gap between them and touch Derek, but he didn’t. They made it through two and a half episodes before headlights flashed in the driveway. Derek got up and went to the window, grunting a little when he saw it was Chris, and rushed to the door to unlock it as Chris came running up the front path.

“Where-” Chris started, eyes wide.

“Here!” Allison said coming down the stairs. She had put a bra and sleep pants on. Her dad rushed to meet her at the bottom of the stairs.

“Did she-”

“No… She was- she knew they wouldn’t-” Allison looked far more shaken than she had when her mother had been there. “What are we going to do?” Chris sighed, closing his eyes.

“I don’t know, honey,” he said. “I don’t know what prompted her to come here after so long. I think it’s best if we just try and get some sleep…”

“I said you would call,” Allison said.

“I know, I know…” Chris said

“Chris, you can take my bed,” Derek said. “I changed the sheets yesterday.” Chris nodded and then shook his head.

“That- I-”

“Not like Derek is going to sleep if you say no, Mr. Argent,” Stiles said. Derek glowered at Stiles who shrugged.

“Alright, but first-”

“If she comes back in this house, we’ll be ready,” Derek grunted. “Allison will be protected.” Chris sighed.

“Yeah, but-”

“It’s fine, Chris. You are not your ex-wife.” Chris nodded and allowed Allison to pull him up the stairs, leaving Stiles and Derek alone. Stiles turned off the TV.

“I don’t think you’ve even seen my room,” Stiles said.

“Was that a line?” Derek asked.

“Dude, if you wanna sleep alone on the couch, I guess that is your prerogative, I just-”

“If I come up, will you just. Shut. Up?” Derek asked. Stiles looked at him for a minute. He wished he could ask why he got so distant, what he was thinking? Why did he look so much more tired than one night’s interrupted sleep> He wanted to ask what happened when Derek was seven. But he didn’t. Because sleep before Derek had to call a pack meeting to deal with Victoria was more important than anything else at that point.

“Yeah…” Stiles said softly. They walked up to the attic in silence. Stiles got in his bed and Derek laid next to him, his back to Stiles. Shaking his head, Stiles faced the wall and closed his eyes. When he woke up a few hours later, Derek was not only spooning him, he was smooshing him into the wall. Stiles’s laid there, reveling in the weight before someone knocked on the door, and they had to get up.

As it turned out, it was much worse than Stiles imagined it. They were all sitting in the living room, talking about what Victoria could possibly want when there was a knock on the door. They all fell silent and Derek got up to open the door to find Victoria standing there with a young, scared looking boy with a shotgun.

“No one needs to get hurt if we are _just civil_ …” She said. Derek looked like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. He moved to the side, the closest to an invitation she was going to get. Half the pack were still in their pyjamas. They stared at her as she sat on a chair, crossing her ankles. The boy stood at her side. Stiles didn’t need werewolf senses to sense the fear coming off of him.

“What do you want, Argent?” Derek practically growled.

“A word with my daughter…”

“Your daughter doesn’t want to speak to you,” Derek said.

“She has no idea as to what she is getting herself mixed up with. Neither does Stiles or Scott and I-” She started.

“I got bit,” Scott interrupted. Victoria’s face faltered a little.

“Ah,” she said. “Well, that is unfortunate…”

“If you hurt him-” Allison started, her eyes narrowed. Scott took her hand, and Victoria smirked.

“Oh, but I already have. You think that Derek Hale and his mother are going to be able to protect you for long?” She laughed. “Hunters from all over the world will come to avenge me if they catch wind that a werewolf pack killed me, don’t think they won’t.” Despite himself, Stiles shuddered. “And don’t think they will stop at the werewolves…”

“Victoria,” Chris said. “I think you forget who has the longer ties.”

“And I think you forget that the others know you have gone soft,” she said. Chris laughed a little.

“I grew up with these people. I fought with these people. These people _know_ what I’m giving up… They know what I’ve lost. Most of them are decent, human beings, and are not so blinded by their hatred as you are,” Chris said, leaning forward over the back of the couch. “These kids are no threat to anyone except someone who comes in and makes threats.” Victoria scoffed a little.

“You are a fool,” she said.

“Says the woman who brought a boy who is so scared he’s more likely to shoot you than one of us,” Derek said. “This conversation is obviously going no where.”

“I’m surprised your mother isn’t here…” Derek’s eyes flashed yellow; a warning.

“I didn’t call her.”

“But you did for the rogue,” Victoria said, unsettling them all. “You think I don’t have my spies?” She laughed. “You miscalculate me, boy.” The front door opened, and a bald, calm black man walked in.

“You miscalculate who is nearby, Mrs. Argent.” The man’s voice was calm and steady. Derek visibly relaxed for the first time since this all started. Victoria made a face.

“Alan,” she said.

“We found the tracking device,” the man said. “We know. We are not afraid to share that you have been working with rogue werewolves for months. I suggest you leave.” The pack looked at each other mutely. Derek who was glared down at Victoria. Chris was staring speechless at his ex-wife.

“You. _Will not_. Hurt. My pack,” Derek snarled. Victoria sneered as she got to her feet, saying nothing as she and the boy left, Derek glaring at her the whole time, not moving until she was gone and Isaac locked the door. Alan sat down as soon as the door was closed.

“Sorry I’m late, Derek,” he said. To the others, “I’m Dr. Alan Deaton. I act as a sort of council person for the Hale pack.” No one said anything.

Stiles cleared his throat. “What do you mean, ‘tracking device’?” He asked.

Deaton looked at him with an assessing eye. “Victoria and those that work with her have been moving around California, finding packs and killing them from the bottom up. By the time they get to the alpha, the alpha is much weakened. They trap it, torture it, and then release it, tracking its whereabouts and then come in for the clean up. They make sighting and death estimates to wager if there are other werewolves around…” Allison held tightly to Scott’s hand. They all looked to Derek who said nothing. Stiles felt frustrated. He’d obviously known, known for months. He shook his head and went into the kitchen on the premise of getting water, but his hands shook with anger so he just leaned his forehead against the sliding glass door. In the other room, the pack discussed this new piece of information. Kira came in after a while.

“Stiles?”

“‘M fine,” he said. Kira got some juice from the fridge and sat down at the table.

“Obviously,” she said. Stiles scowled at her. He glanced at the front room and saw Derek watching him.

“Nothing,” he said sliding the door open and stepping out into the back yard. He sat at the picnic bench where they sometimes ate dinner after grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. Stiles was still amazed at how much they could eat--the wolves that was. Especially close to the full moon. The door opened and shut behind him, but he didn’t look up.

“You’re upset with me,” Derek said. It was not a question and Stiles did not respond. To Stiles’s left, the wood creaked as Derek sat down, staring at his hands.

“Is this why you’ve been so… so aloof?” Stiles asked. “Because you knew something like this might happen?” Derek was silent for a moment.

“I figured she had figured out which pack did this. I did not expect her to come,” Derek said. A million questions swirled in Stiles’s head, but for once he kept his mouth shut, he was that angry. “Stiles…”

“I just don’t understand…”

“I can’t give you what you want,” Derek said. 

“What?” Stiles asked. Derek bit his lip.

“I can’t give you what you want. I can’t even protect the pack… I can’t…” Somehow they had gone from talking about the pack to what they tried to pretend didn’t exist. It made his head spin. Stiles glared at him.

“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation right now…”

“I could smell them on you…” Derek said. “In your Jeep, your clothes. Your hair...” Stiles balked.

“ _Smell who?_ ”

“The people. From the parties. At Christmas.” Stiles rolled his eyes a little, huffing.

“It’s not like we were together… And you were distant before that.” Derek looked to the house.

“I was trying to talk to my family, to see how this would be best handled… To see if I was ready for the kind of responsibility that comes with being a sub-alpha,” Derek said.

“Don’t bullshit me!” Stiles said glaring at him. “You and I both know you wouldn’t have done anything to pursue me even if you weren’t all wrapped up in _secret meeting bullshit_!” Stiles got up and went into the house ignoring the others as he rushed up to his room and locked his door. He blasted his music on his headphones, drowning everything out, willing himself to try and forget everything as he played COD and pretended every target was Derek’s head.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Minor character death.

It was almost a whole month before Stiles spoke to Derek again, and even then it was just, “We need more milk.” The pack was tense. They wanted to ease the fighting, but neither Stiles nor Derek talked about what was going on, and they were worried about when Victoria would come back. Derek made them practice fighting every day for at least three hours despite their constant protests.

The summer faded slowly. Classes ended and Stiles lent Scott, Allison, and Isaac his Jeep, ignoring their pleas to come with them back to Beacon Hills to visit their parents, even though he knew his dad missed him. Erica and Boyd decided to go camping the same weekend, not wanting to be in between Derek and Stiles’s awkwardness.

“I’ll be fine,” he said thrusting the keys in Scott’s hand. “Go! Before I decide you don’t deserve my precious baby.” Scott hugged him before turning on his heel and rushing down the stairs. Stiles locked himself in his room all weekend, coming out only to pee and walk the few blocks to Taco Bell for nachos and Baja Blasts. On Sunday night, Stiles was just about to give into sleep when Scott called him.

“She’s following us,” he said.

“Who?” Stiles asked instantly up, grabbing his bat, and rushing to Derek’s room.

“Victoria…”

“Where are you?” He pounded on Derek’s door. Derek opened it, his eyes narrowing at Stiles. “Get dressed. We have to go… Victoria.” Stiles went down the stairs. There was muffled talking from the phone.

“I don’t know… Close to town but we’re still-”

“Have you passed the corn fields?” Stiles asked finding his shoes and pulling them on.

“I- maybe?” There was screaming. “Hurry, Stiles, hurr-” The phone went dead.

“Derek!” Stiles yelled as he redialed. Derek jumped from near the top of the stairs, grabbing his keys from the hook as they ran out.

“Where are they?” Derek asked as they got in the Camaro.

“I don’t- uh… He didn’t-” He paused when Scott’s phone went straight to voicemail. “Just hurry.” They sped down the road in silence for fifteen minutes. Stiles felt relief wash through him when he saw his Jeep upright on the side of the road next to a field of corn. New terror filled him when he saw the bullet holes in the rear window. “Where-” Derek shifted, howling. Someone howled back and before Stiles could stop him, Derek was gone. Cursing a little, Stiles went crashing after him, calling Scott’s name every so often.

He was in there for about three minutes before he realized how stupid he was, because he immediately got lost in the corn, alone, and with only a baseball bat for protection. Stiles felt his heart start to jackhammer. “Fuck!” He whispered under his breath. He sat down, trying to calm down, but that only made it worse. He blundered through the corn making too much noise but he knew he was making more than he meant to. His vision was blurry and he was going to be sick. He retched, holding onto a corn stalk for support, and when he was done, he plodded on. He came to a clearing and was almost sick again. Allison and Isaac were lying in the dirt, but Scott was bound and gagged by an open fire pit, and they were all unconscious. _That’s not even legal this time of year…_ Stiles thought to himself as he crawled to his unconscious friends. He couldn’t see anyone else, couldn’t hear anything but the fire and Scott’s muffled whimpers. Stiles got to Allison first, his hands trembling as he checked for bleeding. Isaac was unconscious and breathing shallowly, blood all over his face and shirt like his nosed had been broken but healed. They were both fine. Stiles crawled to Scott and untied his gag.

“Where-” Scott started, but Stiles cut him off.

“I don’t know. Help me-” He turned and ran right into a very solid body, and fell back on Scott. The boys looked up at Derek, and they breathed a small sigh of relief.

“You need to go. Now!” Derek said. Scott and Stiles ran for Allison and Isaac. Stiles picked up Allison and followed Scott who had picked up Isaac, and they ran through the corn, and tried to ignore Derek’s pained roars. They would come back for him. They would. At one point, Stiles tripped and Scott kept going. Gasping for breath, Stiles tried to get up, but he couldn’t put any weight on his ankle. He didn’t _think_ it was broken, just hurt like fuck. He grabbed Allison and tried to limp along using his bat as a really shitty crutch, following where he’d thought he’d seen Scott go. It was too quiet, and he could hear his own heart pounding in his ears.

He could hear someone coming towards him, softly calling his name. “Here!” Stiles managed. It was Scott. “I fell... here,” he said handing off Allison. “Go, go… I’ll be alright. Right behind you,” he said Scott turned. Stiles clutched tightly at his bat. He whimpered despite himself with each step. Behind him, he heard gunfire. _Derek!_ He thought, turning to go back but then Scott was there dragging him back towards the road.

“Derek!” Stiles growled, pulling away. “We have to go back!”

“We have to get Isaac and Allison to safety!” Scott said. “Derek can hold his own!”

“No!” Stiles yelled, pulling back, but Scott grabbed Stiles’s arm and marched him to the road like he weighed nothing. They were so busy arguing, they didn’t even see the hunters. One of them grabbed Stiles while another threw a rope around Scott’s neck, pulling it tight, and then Victoria was there, holding a knife and Stiles started to scream, and kick, and bite at his captor who just laughed. Derek howled in the cornfield. Stiles tried to picture how his dad told him to get a captor to let him go. Something about stepping on the toes, elbow to sternum, knee to the head, and knee to the groin, or something like that. Whatever. He slammed his foot down as hard as he could on the guy’s right toes. The man howled in pain, let him go and Stiles elbowed him in the chest. He swung the bat in a wide arch. It connected with the guy’s skull. He fell with a sickening thud. Stiles turned and watched as Victoria shoved the knife into Scott’s stomach and _twisted_ , and he saw red. He crossed the distance, the pain in his ankle dissipating from the rush of adrenalin and swung his bat. It connected solidly with Victoria’s head with a sickening _crack_ and she fell. The man holding Scott ran into the corn, but he didn’t get far before he yelped and there was a sickening _crunch_ of bones breaking. Stiles kicked Victoria aside and fell to his knees next to Scott who had pulled the blade out. He was bleeding, and breathing shallowly. Derek came then, breathing hard.

“Where are the others?” He asked.

“Jeep,” Stiles said, as he scrambled to pull the rope off of Scott’s neck. Scott was already starting to heal, color returning to his cheeks slowly. By the time Kira shows up, Scott was taking tentative steps towards the Jeep while Stiles sat in the dirt, head between his knees, taking deep gasping breaths. Deaton showed up a few minutes later. He looked from Stiles to Derek to the bodies.

“Do you know where their car is?” Deaton asked. Derek nodded. Deaton threw him some gloves. “Go get it, bring it here.” He went to the Jeep, a gentle hand on Scott’s arm. “You ok?” Scott nodded. “Where is the blade?” Scott pointed. There was groaning from the back seat. Allison sat up, wobbled a little, and immediately puked. Kira opened the door, pulling the seat back.

“I’ve got you,” she said. Deaton picked up the blade while Scott and Kira helped Allison and Isaac out of the Jeep. After a few minutes, a car came towards them and slowed. It was Derek. He and Deaton talked for a few minutes, and then Derek went to Stiles, rubbing his back.

“Stiles, how are you doing?”

“I killed them,” he said, shaking. Derek took a deep breath and pulled him close.

“They were hurting you. They were hurting your pack- your family.”

“Yeah, but-” Stiles clung to his shirt.

“Take a few breaths. It will be ok. Deaton and I have somethings to take care of, but I need your help to get yourself and the others home,” Derek said. Stiles took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Some of the trembling went away.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay…” He got up and went to the Jeep. It smelled but was still functioning; they weren’t far from home; he could do this. He could get them home. Kira helped Allison and Isaac in her car but Scott plopped in the passenger seat next to Stiles. They were half way home before Stiles realized he’d left the bat but he figured Deaton or Derek would get it. He never wanted to see it again, anyways.

When they got back to the house, they took turns showering, and then climbed into Derek’s giant ass bed once they were in their pyjamas. They stayed awake, silent and waiting. When Derek finally came home and saw them, he looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but squirmed his way into the middle, pulling them all in closer. They slept uneasily, but there was always someone there to squeeze, cuddle, and to wipe away the tears so they didn’t get up until the late afternoon. When they woke up and wandered downstairs as a group, Talia and Chris were waiting for them with Deaton.

***

A few hours later, Melissa and the Sheriff showed up. Stiles was stretched out on the couch, his foot wrapped and elevated, but after hugging him, Melissa insisted on looking at it.

“Mom, Deaton’s already-” But she was unwinding the bandage already; she winced at the purpling. After inspecting it thoroughly, she wrapped it back up, sighed, and ran her fingers through Stiles’s hair.

“You are lucky it isn’t worse,” she said. The Sheriff looked uncomfortable, standing at the edge of the room, arms crossed.

“I thought this sort of thing wasn’t allowed to happen,” the Sheriff said.

“Dad-” Stiles started, but he was cut off with a look.

“It’s not like we can predict when hunters are going to go after our young,” Talia said sounding tired. The Sheriff made a face.

“Sheriff Stilinski,” Derek said, standing. “I- I realize now I should have left Stiles-”

“What so there would be three-probably four dead?” Melissa pointed out. Stiles squirmed a little, and then sighed.

“Have the police been informed of the ‘accident?’” The Sheriff asked sounding equally tired.

“There has been chatter all morning about it, yes,” Deaton said. “They’re blaming it on a deer. The chances of this coming back on the pack are slim.” The Sheriff sighed.

“I don’t like this,” he said. “It goes against everything…” The front door opened and Erica and Boyd came in.

“Is everyone alright?” She said looking around the room. Allison was curled up on the loveseat in between Scott and Isaac, eyes red and looking so small. Isaac looked exhausted, and Scott was glaring at the floor. “What happened?” She asked, seeing Stiles’s foot. No one said anything. Allison started crying again and rushed out of the room, her dad on her heels.

“Victoria came back,” Derek finally said. “She attacked Scott, Isaac, and Allison on their way home from Beacon Hills. Stiles- she’s dead.” Erica eyed Stiles with disbelief. He didn’t look big enough to kill anyone, much less someone as terrifying as Victoria, but Stiles just stared at his foot, and Erica had no choice but to believe. Derek stood next to the couch and Stiles sat up so Derek could adjust the pillows. He sat behind Stiles and who sank into his arms. The Sheriff looked at them, and then shook his head. Stiles sighed and closed his eyes.

“Alright, obviously we need to give the kids some space,” Talia said. “Emotions are running high, and I think it’s time we all found hotel accommodations.” Everyone looked up. “Yeah, we’re staying for a bit. It’s time some of us saw what being in this pack is really like,” she said eyeing the Sheriff out of the corner of her eye. He said nothing as he walked into the kitchen to get Chris.

Once they were gone, Derek carried Stiles up to Derek’s room and they put on _Lilo & Stitch_, snuggling close. Stiles even pretended he didn’t care that he was half in love with Derek and Derek didn’t give a shit.

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew Scott, Allison, and Isaac were curled up on his side of the bed, and he could hear shuffling on the other side of Derek. They were all there in Derek’s bed. The whole pack. Stiles wondered about the frame breaking, but just grunted and rolled into Derek’s chest. He sighed as Scott spooned him, slipping his hand around Stiles’s waist. Stiles felt very safe squished between two people who cared for him so much and it helped, but he knew the peace wouldn’t last. He would dream about Victoria Argent for a long, long time.

***

Stiles refused sleep in his own bed until his foot was healed, insisting he sleep in Derek’s because it was closer to the bathroom. He made the wolves give him piggy back rides everywhere including the bathroom, but Derek refused except for one time when there was no one there and Stiles threatened to pee in his bed.

For Stiles, the hardest part was not being able to get up when he could hear other people’s conversations. _Everyone’s_ conversations. Some of it he understood. The pack had been threatened and yet they were all still together. The only lasting physical wound was pretty much self inflicted, but everyone kept looking at Stiles weird. Everyone but Derek, and Stiles had to wonder at what happened with the omega.

Tuesday morning, Stiles woke up alone. He could hear the others moving around outside the bedroom;he heard Allison’s soft voice, and he was about to call out to her when he heard Chris there, too. There was no way they could have known that Stiles was awake, that Stiles was listening. But he was. And he did.

“Dad, I don’t- I can’t even look at him without- I was… I was so scared…” He heard Chris hug her.

“I know…” He said. “But you’re alive. And Scott and Isaac. I don’t think- not without-”

“I know, but she was my mother. I just… I’m so _angry_! I mean she was…” There was shuffling, and Derek came in as Stiles pretended to be asleep. Derek just huffed, and crawled in next to Stiles.

“Breakfast time,” he whispered. Stiles shoved his face into the pillows. “Want me to bring something up?” Stiles sighed and rolled on his back, looking up at the ceiling. “You doing ok?”

“When does normal come back?” Stiles asked.

“Were we ever normal?” Derek asked. Stiles giggled a little, looking at his friend.

“Just because you’ve always been a freak…” Derek shoved him. “Send Scott in… You shouldn’t have to carry my human butt around…” Derek laughed and nodded. He got up and went to find Scott, saving him from whatever training the others were putting him through.

Melissa, Talia, Chris, and the Sheriff stayed until Thursday. Talia and Chris worked hard with Scott and the wolves trying to figure out a training routine that could work around homework while Stiles watched TV with his dad. He had forgotten how much he missed him until he was there. Stiles didn’t see or hear much from Allison since he overheard her conversation. He thought she was avoiding him, but he found he really didn’t care.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come home,” Stiles said during a commercial break late Wednesday night.

“It’s okay,” the Sheriff said, patting his knee. “You’ll come home for the holidays though, right?”

“Yeah, dad,” Stiles said, scratching his head. “Of course…” The Sheriff returned his attention to the television with a deep sigh. Eventually, Talia and Chris realized it was getting late so they all said their goodbyes because the parents were going home in the morning. Stiles felt guilty he was relieved, but at the same time, life was so much less complicated when his dad wasn’t around. He was constantly getting these piercing _looks_ like his dad was trying to figure him out or learn how to kill with his mind only.

Scott carried Stiles up to Derek’s bed on his back and they laid there staring at the ceiling for a while, listening to the others move about the house, cleaning.

“Does Allison hate me?” Stiles asked. He’d been avoiding this question, but he needed to ask it. He would have hated her. If roles had been reversed. He couldn’t imagine someone so close to him killing his mom. The thought brought tears to his eyes.

“Stiles!” Scott said, shocked.

“‘Cause I’d hate me. It’d be ok, really…” Stiles said. Only it wouldn’t. How could they be a pack if Allison hated him? Scott pulled Stiles close. Cuddling was now something they did. A lot. It was something that they hadn’t done since they were little kids, but now they did it every day. “I heard them talking the other day. Her and her dad…” He shuddered.

“She doesn’t hate you,” Scott whispered, bringing Stiles back to the present.

“You don’t have to lie,” Stiles said, the tears fell steadily. There was a small knock on the door and Derek came in followed by the rest of the pack, but they stopped when they saw him crying. He wondered if they had heard him. He tried to laugh it off. “It’s just my ankle…” He said, choking back a sob while trying to smile. He felt pathetic. He felt like he’d let everyone down. “Really childish of me…” He said as Derek closed the distance between them, sat on the bed. He tugged Stiles gently out of Scott’s arms and cradled him close. Scott wiped his own eyes and Allison sat on the end of the bed. “Make them all go away,” Stiles pleaded in a whisper. “Make it all go away…” He clung to Derek’s shirt and felt the others come closer, the direct opposite of what he wanted. He felt the bed shift around him, and heard soft whispers then Allison’s soft hand was rubbing his leg.

“I don’t hate you,” she said. Stiles choked out a sob despite himself. “Scott told me… He told me what happened. If it weren’t for you-” Her voice caught in her throat. “If it weren’t for you we’d all probably dead…” Stiles shuddered, pressing his face further into Derek.

“You should hate me,” he mumbled.

“Probably,” Allison agreed as Derek shifted and laid down, pulling Stiles with him. “But I don’t.” She slid behind him and wrapped her arm around him, squeezing. Stiles unclenched his fingers from Derek’s shirt and slid them into hers. The rest of the pack slid in around them, cradling them. Stiles cried some more while he let himself be coddled by the pack and fell into a fitful sleep.

When he woke up, it was still dark and everyone was smooshed around him. He squirmed until he was on top of Derek instead of beside him. The bed was really too small for them; they had become all arms and legs, and armpits in faces. He wondered if they even made bigger beds than this one, or if they were just going to have to make one.

He sighed and stepped gingerly off of the bed. He went to the bathroom and peed. When he got back, he wormed his way back in and shoved his face in Derek’s shoulder, breathing in his scent knowing he belonged here.


	9. Chapter 9

Stiles’s ankle healed slowly. Talia was in constant contact with them as the school year approached, and Stiles was shocked to find it was so close. As soon as Lydia got back to town, she came over, laughing at the huge house.

“We can totally have parties here!” She declared as Derek chased after her, trying to dissuade her of any such notions, but of course she didn’t listen. Stiles ordered his books from Amazon and counted the days down until class.

“Dude,” he said to Scott. “There’s only nine more days…” He whined. Scott ruffled his hair.

“We should have a COD marathon…” They looked at Derek.

“Do you think he’ll let us?

“The only time I wolfed out all summer was under controlled situations.” He bit his lip. “You should ask him…” They bickered back and forth about who would ask until Derek came in the kitchen.

“I know you two will do it even without my permission…” Derek said pulling out the milk and getting a glass. The two boys hugged Derek and raced up to Stiles’s room, but they only got a few hours into the marathon before Isaac and Allison came up. They had a distinct unfair advantage: sex. Allison sucked on his neck and Isaac rubbed his cock through his jeans. Scott moaned and Stiles made a face.

“This is Brosday! Get out!” Stiles yelled, but Scott just dropped the controller.

“I’m sorry dude,” he said letting himself be pulled up. “I’m out…” Stiles sighed and let his own controller drop.

“You suck,” he called out and flopped over. He turned off his PS3 and wandered downstairs to find Kira curled up on the couch, TV on but passed out, and Derek in the kitchen messing on his computer. Stiles sat next to him, his head over his arms.

“What happened to COD?” Derek asked, and Stiles flailed, not getting up.

“Sex. Sex happened.” He sat up and pulled out his phone. Derek said nothing, just kept typing away at his computer. “What are you doing?” Stiles leaned over, and Derek just pushed his face away with his palm. “Fine.” Stiles started tapping his fingers on the table. He picked up his phone, huffed, and put it back down.

“Are you just-” Derek shook his head. “Why don’t you call Lydia? She wants to kick the year off right with some sort of social activist forum… Bet she could use your help.” Stiles picked up his phone and dialed, getting up.

“Hey, Stiles,” Lydia said. There was music playing in the background.

“Derek said you need help with a forum?”

“Hmm…” She said. “I do. Wanna come over? It’s way early, but I want it like the third week of school, so really, we’re ages behind.”

“Sure,” Stiles said. “I’ll be right over…” He said goodbye to Derek and went to his Jeep. When he pulled up in front of Lydia’s building, she was waiting for him outside. They hugged.

“Thanks for offering to help…” She said, and Stiles shrugged.

“Scott is too busy to play with me, Kira was napping, and Derek doesn’t want to be annoyed by me.”

“What about Erica and Boyd?” Stiles shrugged.

“They- they scare me…” Stiles said truthfully. Lydia laughed, leading the way up to her room. She had a bunch of lamps and Christmas lights on, giving the room a soft glow, and she flopped on her bed and grabbed her iPad leaving Stiles to stand awkwardly in her door frame.

“I’ve been thinking about a lot this summer,” she said. “The current acronym is LGBTQIA and more, but people never talk about the other letters. Do _you_ know what the I and the A stand for?” Stiles shook his head.

“A for ‘ally’?” Lydia scoffed and threw a pen cap at him.

“Try asexual, agender, and aromantic.” Stiles frowned.

“Asexual… Isn’t that-don’t lizards do that?” Lydia sat up and looked at him.

“You really _do_ live under a rock…” She patted the bed next to her. “Come and be educated.” She handed him the tablet and Stiles instantly recognized Tumblr, but for once it wasn’t full of porn. Stiles nibbled on his nail as he started flicking through the different posts.

“You want to have a whole forum on this?” He asked, looking up.

“Yeah,” she said. “I think it’s important, and I know that there is probably quite a few students who want to talk on this subject.” She looked at the tablet where Stiles had stopped. “I’ve already contacted a student, and they seem to be very interested. That’s the only way I want to do this. Asexual and aromantic people talking about themselves. Otherwise, what the hell are we doing?”

“So, what can I do to help?” Stiles asked. “You sound like you’ve got it all under control…” She laughed a little.

“We need flyers, a venue, food…” Stiles made a face, and they started talking about where they could hold it. It was nice to talk about something new. When he finally got back to the house, it was almost dark and everyone was sitting around the TV. Stiles plopped next to Derek, curling up next to him, and Derek pulled him close.

“Were you productive?” Derek asked. Stiles nodded. “Good.”

The next day, Stiles dragged Kira along, and Lydia had them contacting all sorts of places to ask pricing and what not. By the time the first day of classes started, the forum was basically planned, and a lot of it had been approved by the QSA on Facebook, so the first meeting they had was only a slight amount of business followed by everyone talking about their summers. It was weird to not be able to talk about what had really happened, but at the same time it was a relief.

The first few weeks went pretty slowly, and Stiles hung out with the pack or Lydia, but overall enjoyed the first few weeks back better than he had the first few weeks of his freshman year. Derek remained elusive, but Stiles woke up in the most nights around midnight to Derek crawling in bed with him, and by the time Stiles’s alarm went off, Derek was gone. Stiles would have thought it was a dream except he could smell him in his bed.

***

The panel went well. Everyone did everything they were supposed to do and overall it was a success. The people on the panel talked about their various identities, explaining how their identities were different, and that even two people who used the same identifier may experience it in different ways, but they were all valid. The only surprise for Stiles really was Derek’s reaction; as soon as it started, Derek leaned forward listening to the people’s every word. Stiles expected him to be interested, but this was just bizarre. When the talk was over, Stiles half expected Derek to take off like the others, but instead he hung back letting other people talk to some of the panelists before walking up to one, biting his lip a little. Stiles wanted _so badly_ to eavesdrop, but there was no way and Lydia kept yelling at him to stack more chairs every time he wandered closer.

By the time Stiles was done, Derek stood by the door waiting to drive him home, some papers folded in his back pocket, smiling in a way Stiles hadn’t seen since the year before at the dance a whole life time ago it seemed. Stiles   
smiled at him as he hugged Lydia accepting her thank you baggie of candy before wandering over to Derek; they walked to the car in silence, bumping into each other and smiling a little whenever they did. Derek opened Stiles’s car door before getting in the driver’s side and he let Stiles chose the radio station without commentary (something he hardly ever did).

Three days later and Derek was still smiling weirdly at Stiles but neither of them had much time to talk, caught up in the beginning of the semester and papers and what not. One night Derek wandered up to Stiles’s room where he was reading for his psych class and listening to Fall Out Boy.

“You hungry?” Derek asked sticking his head in after knocking..

“I could definitely go for some eats,” Stiles nodded, looking up from his book.

“Tacos?” Stiles nodded excitedly. “Alright…” He drove them to a taco place that Stiles had never even been to or even heard about before.

“You been holding out on me Hale?” Stiles asked as Derek parked and they got out.

“Maybe,” he said as he lead them to the front door. The restaurant was crowded, but they were seated right away and given chips and salsa, and menus. Derek stole Stiles’s right away. “Do you trust me?” He asked, and Stiles squinted a little.

“Should I?” Derek smiled a little wider.

“You should,” he affirmed and a waiter came to take their order. He ordered iced teas, and two different types of street tacos. “These are really the best tacos,” he assured Stiles to which Stiles shrugged and dipped his chip in the salsa which was spicy and delicious.

“So did you like the forum?” Stiles asked after the waiter brought their drinks.

“Yeah, it was really…” He paused, munching on a chip. “It was really helpful.” Stiles cocked his head a little.

“What does that mean?” Stiles asked and Derek shrugged a little. “Wait, are you-?” Stiles asked wide eyed and Derek shrugged a little, blushing.

“Asexual seems to fit…” He said swirling a chip around in the salsa. Stiles gaped at him for a minute before the waiter came and gave them their tacos. Stiles watched as Derek grabbed two tacos from Stiles’s plate and swapped them for two on his own before shoving the plate back. There were four tacos on his plate, fried onions in the middle, and fresh onions and cilantro on the side with a special taco sauce. He watched as Derek began distributing his fried onions over his tacos, followed by the fresh stuff, topping it all with the taco sauce. “Eat,” Derek instructed before he took his first bite and Stiles jumped into action, assembling as he’d seen Derek do. One set of tacos was beef, the other chicken; he started with the chicken. He moaned, slurping as the juices dripped down his hand a little.

“Holy shit, this is good,” he groaned and Derek smirked a little. They ate in relative silence after that, enjoying their food too much to talk. When they finished eating, Stiles looked up at Derek, as the older man wiped the last of the taco juices from his fingers and mouth before tossing his napkin on the plate.

“I can’t remember ever feeling this… This _relieved_ …” Derek murmured as he took another sip of his tea and Stiles idly stirred the leftover salsa with a broken chip which he almost immediately abandoned because the waiter came to clear their table and leave the check which Derek grabbed immediately.

“Yeah?” Stiles asked, but Derek didn’t hear him because he was too busy tugging his wallet out and handing his card off to the waiter.

“After this do you want to go get some ice cream or see a movie or something?” Derek asked.

“Sure!” Stiles exclaimed excitedly and pulled out his phone. “That new Chris Pratt movie is playing and Scott and I have been wanting-” Derek put his hand over Stiles’s, covering the screen.

“I thought… maybe… just us…” Stiles’s heart skipped a beat and he gaped at Derek.

“Like a- is this a- _are we on a date_?!” Stiles stammered, volume increasing with each word. Derek blushed a little, shrugging.

“Only if you want it to be,” he said and Stiles blinked at him a few times, squeaked, and he launched himself across the table to pull Derek into a tight hug before realizing he was sitting in a Mexican restaurant and people were staring at them. He sat down, blushing crimson. Derek smirked a little. “Come on; let’s get out of here.” They paid and as soon as they exited the restaurant linked hands on the way to the car.

They held hands for the rest of the night--all through the car rides, movie, and back up to the house to find the pack in the living room watching _Jurassic Park_. Some of them smirked a little when Derek sat on the floor and Stiles plopped between his legs, pulling the other man’s arms around him. When the movie ended Scott turned excitedly to Stiles.

“Does this mean what I think this means?” He asked from the pile that was him, Allison, and Isaac, and Stiles just smiled as the rest of the pack watched him and Derek expectantly. Derek nodded a little, looking not at them, but at Stiles and lacing his fingers through Stiles’s to which the others threw their pillows at Derek and Stiles yelling ‘mush’ and ‘gross,’ laughing. They blushed as the others went to bed because it was almost midnight, but Scott hung back, telling even Allison and Isaac he’d catch up. The others went to their bedrooms, but when they were alone, Scott just bounced on his heels a little, biting his lip before just hugging his best friend tight. He looked at Derek, assessing, punched him lightly on the shoulder, nodded, and got up.

“See you in the morning,” Scott said rushing up the stairs. Derek and Stiles just laughed. They got up and went to Derek’s room, tugging out of their clothes. In the car they had talked some more about how they needed to go slow, establish rules, and follow them, but they could wait a few weeks; for once they wanted their relationship to be something uncomplicated, and it wasn’t like sleeping in the same bed was something new.

***

The following Saturday found the pack curled up in front of the TV watching Buffy. They had gotten pizza, wings, and soda and Stiles curled up in the recliner with Derek. They ate and joked about lovebots as one named April wreaked havoc all over Sunnyvale not thinking about which episode was next until Buffy walked in the door and called for her mom, everyone scrambled for the controller, but they were too slow: Buffy had seen her mother’s dead body on the couch.

“I’m so sorry,” Kira said brushing her hair out of her face as she clutched the controller, the TV silent in front of her. “I-I forgot-” They were all looking at Allison.

“It was the cancer?” She asked. She sounded close to tears, but Kira shook her head.

“It was an aneurysm,” Stiles said. “She didn’t feel anything. She went quickly.” Allison bit her lip.

“And- and they deal with it in the next episode right? The death?” Stiles nodded.

“It’s kind of cool,” Kira said. “Joss Whedon didn’t put any music in it because he didn’t want it to take away from the story or something.”

“It’s really about how everyone reacts. It’s really intense,” Stiles said. “I have to be in a very good place to watch it.” Stiles slid to the floor next to the coffee table wanting to be closer to her, but also very aware of how she might not want that.

“I want to watch it,” Allison said, and everyone started shaking their heads.

“It’s ok, we should-” “No, really, I’m tired-” “Sushi!”

“I want to watch it. Please,” she said curling into Scott’s side and pulling Isaac over her. Kira made a face.

“We can pause it whenever you need us-”

“Don’t start yet!” Stiles yelled and rushed upstairs. He grabbed his blanket off his bed and a couple extra boxes of kleenex from the bathroom. He tossed one on the couch and curled up next to Derek as his phone went off.

_You know, just because Allison wants to watch this episode, doesn’t mean you have to…_ Derek said.

“I know,” Stiles whispered to him as the show started. Derek pulled him close, nosing his hair. The episode was a rough one; everyone cried. Halfway through, they paused it and shoved the table out of the way and curled up on the floor. Allison lay between Isaac and Scott and Stiles between Scott and Derek. When it was finally over they all went to get Dairy Queen ice cream; Stiles still felt shaky so he sat in Derek’s Camaro for a few extra minutes before going to the restaurant.

“You ok?” Derek asked as they watched Scott go with Isaac and Allison, all of them holding hands.

“No,” Stiles said rubbing his nose on his sleeve. “That episode always fucks me up.”

“What can I do?” Derek asked.

“Just- just time, and you know, extra-” He leaned over and picked up Derek’s hand and squeezed it. “If you- if you don’t mind…”

“Whatever you need,” Derek said leaning over and kissing Stiles’s cheek. Stiles wiped his nose again on the inside of his t-shirt and they got out of the car. They went in holding hands to find Allison curled up in a booth, big glasses over her eyes as she curled around herself Scott in the booth behind her, arm around her shoulder, holding her hand, and watching the line while Isaac stood in line with some cash. Once everyone sat down with their ice cream, they ate slowly. Stiles felt the hollow pit in his stomach expand as he thought about how when he was a kid sometimes his mom would bring him in for a Nerds Blizzard and now Dairy Queen didn’t even fucking carry Nerds and it was a fucking travesty. He felt like he was choking on his Reese's Blizzard and stopped eating after a few bites, watching it melt into a sickening looking soup.

Once the ice cream was gone, the pack still felt restless, so they went to the park where they ran around in circles on the playground. They got dizzy on the swings and stumbled around like they were drunk, dropping in the grass giggling as the world continued to spin. Stiles swung back and forth, wishing he could have been as brave as when he was a kid and go sailing into the air, but his ankle was finally just getting back to normal, and he didn’t want to fuck it up again. Eventually they played hide-and-go seek which got really boring because the wolves just followed everyone’s scent. They got pizza on the way home.

After dinner, they decided to make a blanket fort in the living room and crashed down there, not yet ready to give up the closeness. They put on _Pretty in Pink_ at Isaac’s insistence, which was followed by _The Breakfast Club_ but no one saw it to the end.


	10. Chapter 10

There were so many more instances like that over the next several weeks. They bought coffee for each other, made each other breakfast, and constantly hugged and kissed, and Stiles loved every minute of it. He liked waking up tangled around Derek, and loved falling asleep with Derek’s arm draped over him. Sometimes they met for lunch on campus, but mostly school they spent apart because they had different classes in separate parts of the campus. Once Stiles even brought Derek some lunch in the chem lab when he forgot to pack something but he didn’t linger because Derek seemed busy.

They kept putting off the discussion because things were going so well; they were both happy having it be simple, and they were busy with classes. Stiles was taking some upper division science courses and found he didn’t have as much time as he’d like to hang out with the pack or Derek, but Derek was probably the sweetest boyfriend ever, and would come drag Stiles out of the library at one in the morning, and make him coffee and a bagel before his seven o’clock class the next morning despite having his own early classes.

Even the supernatural parts seemed to have calmed. They were making it work despite the rocky beginning. There had been no movement on the werewolf front; Talia, Chris, and Deaton were monitoring the situation and it was exactly like Chris thought. Hunters moved through the territory without ever picking up on the small pack nestled in the house just off campus. Everything was going so well.

But then… Thinking back on it a month later, Stiles couldn’t put his finger on where it seemed to change, when Derek kissing him on the street corner or holding hands stopped being an exciting thrill and became a boring chore. It wasn’t as bad as say taking out the trash, and he wanted to make Derek happy, but somewhere in a matter of weeks, Stiles went from wanting nothing more than to be curled up at Derek’s side to wishing he had a better lock on his door.

It probably didn’t help that everyone kept making comments, telling them that they were so cute, that they looked so happy, how _everyone_ was _so_ happy for them, and even the Sheriff said he was happy for Stiles during one very awkward Skype chat. Stiles hated all the attention, all the eyes looking at them, even if it was all positive attention, and honestly he couldn’t say _why_ it made his skin crawl, but it just did.

Things would have probably gone differently if they had actually sat down and talked about Derek’s limits sooner than they did, but they didn’t so it didn’t.

***

Stiles woke up one morning before his alarm with Derek curled around him, snoring on his neck, hands clutching at him tightly. Stiles stared out the window, arms crossed, and fingers tapping in frustration on his arm.

_ERR!! ERR!! ERR!!_

Derek slapped the alarm with a groan, tugging Stiles closer for a minute before letting him go and getting up to go shower, muttering a sleepy good morning before he went to the bathroom. Stiles laid there for a few more minutes before getting up and pulling on some clean clothes. Downstairs he found Scott, Allison, and Isaac all eating eggs.

“There’s more in the pan if you want it,” Isaac said, pointing with his fork. Stiles grunted at them and grabbed some cereal.

“You ok, dude?” Scott asked. Stiles nodded a little as he grabbed the milk, a bowl, and spoon. “You’ve been really angry the last few days…” Scott said and Stiles shrugged.

“Just a lot of homework…” He muttered, rubbing his eye as he tried to open the cereal box with his free hand, and hissing angrily when it fell to the floor sending sweet crunchy pieces everywhere. He got up and got the broom and dustpan. By the time he finished cleaning up, and actually had a bowl of cereal, Derek came down the stairs, tugging on a shirt, still half asleep. He kissed the top of Stiles’s head but missed the shudder that everyone else saw.

“Ok if I eat these eggs? Is there any coffee?” He asked as Scott stared at Stiles who just stared into his now soggy cereal.

“Yes and yes,” Allison said getting up and putting her plate in the sink. Scott kicked Stiles under the table and Stiles jumped, glaring at him.

“What?” Stiles mouthed angrily and Scott just pointed at Derek with his eyes. Stiles shook his head, no, and went back to staring at his cereal. Eventually he gave up and shoved his bowl in the sink.

“I have to go to class,” he muttered as he left the kitchen. Scott caught up with him as he came tripping down the steps, pulling on his shoes.

“Can I have a ride to campus?” Scott asked and Stiles sighed a little.

“Whatever.” Scott grabbed his bag and they went to the Jeep silently. Scott said nothing as they drove past campus and Stiles pulled in front of a coffee shop. They sat in silence for several long minutes before Stiles took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“I just- I feel so stupid. I liked- I’ve _liked_ Derek for so long, and now…” Stiles muttered.

“And now what?” Scott asked softly.

“And now…” He took a deep breath, trying to ease some of the tightness in his chest. “I still like him, Scotty, I just… I hate- I can’t stand… It’s perfect, Scott. Why the fuck am I so unhappy?”

“But- you- Stiles…”

“I _know_!” He sighed and whacked the steering wheel.

“But what-”

“I don’t know…” Stiles sighed. “I really- I just don’t know… I’m-”

“Have you tried to talk to Derek about this?” Scott asked. Stiles shook his head no.

“What do I tell him? Yeah, I like you, but I’m apparently a commitment-phobic jerk off who can’t do this?” Stiles asked and bit his finger nail. They fell silent again as Scott just sat there watching him, unsure of what to say. Finally Stiles rubbed his face hard and sat up. “Let’s go get some coffee,” he muttered and got out leaving Scott to scramble out after him.

The day sped by in a blur of classes and reading and by the time he got home for dinner, he was completely exhausted. Most of the rest of the pack was sitting in the kitchen doing homework, so Stiles snuck up to his room to flop on his bed and ended up falling asleep despite it being barely 7:30. He woke up a little bit later to Derek curling up beside him, kissing the back of his neck.

“Hey, baby,” Derek murmured, brushing his hand across Stiles’s stomach. Stiles stiffened and took a deep breath. “You ok?” Stiles shrugged.

“Just startled me…” He said trying to relax a little, closing his eyes, and drifting in and out of sleep as Derek held him close, his fingers tracing gently across Stiles’s stomach. “Stop that!” Stiles snapped and shoved Derek’s hand away, curling closer to the wall. Derek froze and said nothing for a long minute.

“Are you ok?” He asked.

“I’m fine. I just want to get some sleep,” Stiles grumbled into his pillow.

“Oh.” Derek paused. “I can- I can leave…” Stiles said nothing, just squeezed his eyes shut and laid as still as he could. Derek bit his lip. “I’m sorry. I’ll- I’ll give your space.” He got up and went downstairs leaving Stiles alone. Stiles curled in around himself, biting back a sob.

A little while later Scott came up with some pizza.

“You didn’t eat, but I thought you might-” He started and stopped when he saw Stiles with his head shoved under the blankets and pillows. Scott put the pizza on Stiles’s desk and curled up behind him on the bed, taking care to not touch him.

“I can’t do it. I can’t- I can’t talk to him, but I can’t-” Stiles mumbled and Scott sighed.

“I’m sure if you just _talk_ to him, you’ll feel better. You two are good at -” Stiles pulled himself out from under the blankets, his face red and puffy.

“We’re good at not talking. It is what we do best…” He said. “We have this like, check list of things that we like and need sexually, and… And we haven’t done it, and I don’t know why…”

“You need to tell _him_ this… Not me,” Scott murmured and Stiles just sighed.

“I can’t,” he muttered. “I just can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because more than anything, I’m scared to lose him.”

“Yeah,” Scott agreed. “That is totally understandable, but you need to understand that you’re going to lose him whether you like it or not if you don’t _talk_ to him…” Stiles rubbed his cheek and sighed.

“But I _can’t_...”

“You _have_ to, Stiles… You have to try…” Scott whispered, and Stiles flopped back on the bed.

“I know…” He sighed and pulled the blanket down but immediately pushed it back up. “Did you say you brought me food?” Scott laughed a little and got up to grab the pizza.

The next morning, Stiles crawled into bed next to Derek before dawn and sat with his knees below his chin watching the young wolf until he woke up.

“Hey, you ‘kay?” Derek muttered, rubbing his face. Stiles shrugged a little.

“We should go hiking today,” he said, and Derek blinked up at him.

“Hiking?” He asked, and Stiles nodded. “Ok… Sure.” He yawned, and scooted closer to Stiles but Stiles got up quickly.

“I’ll go make you some breakfast,” he offered and rushed downstairs where he started to make waffles and bacon. Derek came down a bit later, dressed and showered, carrying a backpack.

“Do you know where the extra water bottles are?” Derek asked setting the bag down on some empty counter space. Stiles pointed to a cabinet not far off. “Thanks.” Derek pulled a couple out and filled them with water and left them on the counter as he went to the cabinet to get some trail snacks. “If you’re going to want jerky, which knowing you, you will, we’ll need to stop on the ways…” Derek said and Stiles nodded as he flipped the bacon, his tongue sticking out slightly as he concentrated on the task at hand. A few minutes later, they sat down and ate in slightly awkward silence before eventually climbing into Stiles’s Jeep and taking off. Derek didn’t even ask Stiles which trails they were going, or even why; he just let Stiles play really loud music, dodging in and out of traffic, until they got to some trees and got out. Derek hadn’t hiked at this particular trail, but followed Stiles in silence as he led the way to a sign post, grabbing a map before taking off down the trail.

Five minutes went by. Ten. Thirty. Still Stiles said nothing, and the longer the silence went on, the more nervous Derek grew. Stiles was never this quiet this long. Finally after an hour of plowing along the trail, Derek cleared his throat and rubbed his face.

“Hey, when’s the next toilet? I need to pee?” He blushed as Stiles turned to look at him, eyebrows raised, but he just shrugged.

“Not far.” They kept walking and eventually they got to a place with toilets. Stiles consulted the map again while Derek peed. When he got out, Stiles bit his lip and sat down on a bench nearby. Derek sat next to him and took Stiles’s hand, but Stiles shook free quickly.

“Stiles, did I-” But Stiles cut him off.

“IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME! Me! I’m a terrible person!” He started sobbing. “I- I chased and lusted and- for over a year! I strung you along, and manipulated you! And now- Now, I can’t- I’m just- I’m apparently a giant commitmentphobe and-” Derek pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m sorry, just so sorry…” He clung to Derek’s shirt, his fingers twisting into the soft fabric. “I’m just a terrible fucked up person, and I’m sorry I dragged you all the way out here, I just… I thought maybe…”

“Shh…” Derek murmured rubbing his back. “It’s ok… It’s ok, Stiles.” Stiles shoved himself away, getting to his feet and glaring at Derek.

“No, Derek! It’s _not_ ok! I can’t even stand to have you touch me! How can we make this work? How is any of this ok?” He yelled and blushed as some other hikers walked past them, side eyeing them.

“Do you want to break up?” Derek asked once the hikers had passed. He looked at Stiles, his eyes bloodshot, cheeks red, and he looked like he might puke. Stiles shook his head a little.

“No. But I just-” Derek let out a deep breath. “Something is seriously wrong with me, Derek…”

“Well, now we can figure out what it is. If you need more space- If you need more nights to yourself and less kissing or whatever, that is totally fine! You’ve been so great about listening to me and what I need, and I just want to do the same for you.” Stiles took a small breath and looked at Derek for a long moment.

“For real?” Derek nodded a little. “Thank you…” He went to Derek and squeezed him tightly, letting Derek squeeze him back before they headed back to the Jeep. They stopped at Wendy’s on the way home seeing as they hadn’t eaten any of their trail food, and ate at home on the couch while watching whatever Kira had put on TV.

The next few days were full of awkward touches and long nights. Stiles found he didn’t really like sleeping alone after months of Derek’s warmth by his side, but also having the extra space was nice, and he tried to not feel too guilty about it because Derek seemed to be a bit lighter too. The pack largely gave them both a wide berth except for Scott who made sure to come up to Stiles’s room every night to play a couple rounds of Halo before bed, and Lydia came over a lot and hung out with Derek, both of them working on complicated math problems. Overall, it wasn’t the worst time in Stiles’s life, but still, he felt like something was seriously wrong with him. He scoured the internet for answers, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. He still wanted so much to be with Derek, but he just couldn’t shake the feelings.

A few days later, Stiles came home late from studying at the library to find Derek crashed out on his bed. It was the first time Derek had even been in his room since they went hiking. The wolf woke with a snort and a start, blinking up at Stiles as the young man put his book bag down.

“Stiles! Found… Some.... Mer…” He held out his phone and Stiles took it as Derek rubbed the sleep from his eyes as Stiles the phone and tiredly looked at the page. It had been a long day, and he wanted to shower before bed. The page read, “Lithromantic is a term to describe a person who experiences romantic love but does not want their feelings to be reciprocated. Lithromantic people may or may not be ok with romantic relationships. Some accept reciprocated platonic love, or even romantic love, but does not find it necessary in a relationship.” Stiles blinked.

“A person who experiences romantic love but does not want… may or may not be ok…” He looked like he might cry. “Derek- How?” Derek nodded a little.

“I know…” He agreed. “It’s- I know…” Stiles hugged Derek and they fell on the bed as Stiles clung to him a little, trying to choke back his sobs.

“Derek- I can’t- I mean…” Stiles gasped and Derek hummed in agreement.

“Whatever you need, however we need to work this so that you can feel good in whatever we end up having. It’s fine. It’s all fine. I even found this thing called a queer platonic relationship, and like. Whatever- however you- we define it, it will be ok.” Stiles sniffled a little.

“I love you, Derek.”

“I know,” Derek murmured back, kissing his hair. “It’s going to be ok.” Stiles nodded a little into his chest, tangling his legs into Derek’s.

“Yeah,” he managed. “Yeah, I know. Thank you…”

Eventually they got up and went downstairs and got some leftover pizza on their way to the living room to join some of the others in the pack to watch some stupid movie. No one said anything as Derek and Stiles curled up together on the couch, holding hands and smiling weakly at each other.

The next morning, Stiles woke up on the couch surrounded by the pack. Seeing as there was no way for him to get up, he flopped on his back and instead decided to look more into this term on Tumblr. There were a lot of posts just mentioning them and lumping them in with grayromantics and the like, but then he found a comic of a person being attracted to another person until they were in a relationship. He gasped a little when he read, “Akoiromantic / Lithromantic   
Describes someone who may experience romantic attraction, and likes the idea of being in a romantic relationship, but stops experiencing romantic attraction, or does not enjoy it, once they are in a romantic relationship and/or when the attraction is reciprocated. Many people don’t want to act on it or have it reciprocated because of this.” That. That explained everything so beautifully, it was hard to not get up and start shouting about it to the pack about this new word. He sat up when he heard someone heading to the kitchen, and saw Derek heading towards the coffee pot. Stiles crawled over the back of the couch, clutching his phone as he hugged Derek tightly. He held out the phone, and Derek took it, red the post, and smiled at Stiles sleepily.

“Good,” he murmured, and Stiles kissed his cheek.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Good.” 

On Friday, the pack threw a party to let off some steam. Stiles got super drunk and began shouting to everyone who would listen for thirty seconds about aromanticism and how it was seriously underrepresented, and hey, did you know, aromantic people can experience romantic attraction? Isn’t that fucking weird. Fortunately, most of the people who were there were either a part of the pack or the QSA, so they just nodded and thanked him for telling them, again, about this new amazing thing he had discovered. At the end of the night, Derek dragged Stiles upstairs, and they passed out in Derek’s bed shifting and curling around other pack members as they filtered in. When Scott finally came in, he flopped on top of Stiles and squeezed him tight.

“I’m so glad you figured it out, bro,” he whispered. “I’m so glad you’re working at being happy…” Stiles nodded sleepily and kissed Stiles’s cheek.

“Thanks for always being there for me…”

“Always, dude. Always…” They fell asleep quickly after that, too tired and too drunk to say more.

***

A few weeks later, Derek went up to Stiles’s room to find him working on a paper.

“You almost done? Or should I come back?” Derek asked and Stiles smiled.

“I am on the last page of editing; just a few minutes…” Stiles said and Derek sat on Stiles’s bed, waiting, a DVD in his hand. Stiles finished up the last edit and looked at Derek. “Whatcha got there?” He asked and Derek smiled wider.

“It came.” Stiles cocked his head and squinted a little, smiling.

“It? You don’t mean-?” Derek nodded and Stiles jumped up, shouting. “Be prepared to be amazed!” He shouted ripping open the box and pulling out the Star Wars special edition on blu-ray disks. “I can’t believe you have _never_ seen Star Wars!” He pulled the first disc open and shoved it in his PS3 as Derek started arranging the pillows and blankets so they could sit up slightly. He let Stiles get seated waiting to see if he would want to cuddle or not. Stiles flopped right in the middle, so Derek sidled up against him, pulling him close.

“I didn’t say I’ve never seen it, I just said I haven’t seen it since I was a kid,” Derek explained and Stiles shrugged a little, laughing.

“Like you’ll even remember any of it…” He muttered and hit play. Derek smirked a little and curled in closer. After the first movie ended, they took a break and went downstairs to find some cake and other goodies lying around. Stiles sat on the counter as he ate right from the cake tray, and Derek leaned against the sink eating some ice cream from the carton.

“Do you ever worry that we’re missing out? Like, we’re not the whole package or something?” Derek asked after a moment. Stiles squinted a little.

“What are you talking about?” He asked through a mouthful of icing.

“You know, like the being in love, and having sex, kids, the white picket fence…” Stiles laughed and almost choked on his cake.

“Are you serious?” Derek nodded a little. “Dude, we _are_ the whole package. We are the dream. We’re working to make ourselves happy and saying fuck it to everyone else. I mean, yeah, sometimes I think it sucks I can’t love you like the world says I should, but…” Derek smiled a little. “Are you having second thoughts?” Derek shook his head, no.

“I am really happy with how things are going right now,” he said and took another bite of ice cream.

“Good,” Stiles said. “Me too. Now give me some of that ice cream.” He grabbed Derek’s arm and stole his bite of ice cream, both of them giggling as Isaac came in and rolled his eyes.

“You two are so gross,” he muttered as he grabbed the milk out of the fridge and drank right from the carton. “So gross…” Stiles just rolled his eyes, and Derek stuck his foot out so Isaac tripped a little as he walked past them and back to his room.

***

And thus they lived queer platonically ever after.

**Author's Note:**

> The first definition of lithromantic that Derek finds comes from Aven [here](http://www.asexuality.org/wiki/index.php?title=Lithromantic) and the comic that Stiles finds on Tumblr is [here](http://talic-art.tumblr.com/post/112563168820/roman-c-parts-1-and-2-you-can-read).
> 
> I am lithromantic ace, so feel free to come find me on [Tumblr](http://aroacefuriosa.tumblr.com/) and talk about this stuff!! <3


End file.
